Flowers Will Grow
by CrypticMoonFang
Summary: Shows Danny and Sam's future, and I doubt you'll be disappointed. No flames please.
1. Chapter 1

~Chapter 1~

Danny and Sam spent the night at the hospital. The twins were taken from them and kept in a nursery so they would have a place to sleep while their parents slept in the birth room. And sleep they did. Danny sat slumped over in his chair, snoring lightly. Sam slept heavily in the hospital bed, which they would not allow her to get out of, and seemed too exhausted to snore at all. Overall it was a peaceful scene.

The next morning was anything but. The twins were brought to Sam at probably 1:15am. They were crying their poor little eyes out. The nurse holding them pushed Danny out of the room and taught her how to breastfeed in terms of the best way to hold the baby.

Everything was such a blur to Danny. He was a dad, finally. It was all he could think about; the responsibilities, the duties to his family that now officially included Sam and the twins, the babies' future, how hard he needed to work to provide for them, how he would lay his life on the line to protect them... There was so much to think about and so little time to plan things. He would have to work especially hard to take care of Sam and help her recover from labor.

Now the real story of his life began. Now that Sam had endeavored so tediously to bring them into the world, it was up to him to be her partner in rearing the babies.

**A/N**

**Man, this chapter was so dang short. I feel terrible about the crappy little thing, I really do. I started working on this but then I got super sick, I mean like fevers and cold sweats and not being able to sleep good and coughing and a sore throat and a sore chest and super tired and lethargic and headaches... The list just goes on. I'm still sick and I really can't finish this chapter, guys. I'm so sorry. I know it's not my fault but I still feel so guilty. I didn't want to make you guys wait for this story.**

**I guess the bright side would be that even though it was short, it wasn't a message saying that I wasn't going to do the sequel after all. I'm still gonna do it and there will be ups and downs and sicknesses and possible character deaths (won't tell you if there is or not) and there will be happy and sad and angry and sweet and loving and caring and anguish and humor and comfort and friendship and family and friends. Later on there will be marital spats, so don't be surprised if any married couples fight. I won't say who gets married, where, or when, or even IF someone gets married (because Maddie and Jack are already married).**

**This will be a rollercoaster of surprises, so please be a little patient with me. I can't get to the next chapter until I get over my sickness and keep in mind that even after that I have schoolwork and LOTS of tests coming up since it's the end of the grading period next week. Also, as you all know, I can't predict when I'm going to get over this thing, so please be patient and forgive the long wait.**

**Oh, and just so you know, I did good just to get out the last two sentences. I'm really just that tired. Sorry if this chapter was crap.**


	2. Chapter 2

~Chapter 2~

The next morning, after the twins had been fed and changed, Sam woke to her own stomach growling irately. It was only then that she realized two things: she was _starving_ and there were three balloons tied together beside her bed. Danny wasn't even up yet. It was to be expected; not only was he a teenager, but he had stayed up with Sam, probably later than her. He was exhausted. Didn't change the fact that she wanted food, though.

She couldn't help but think twice about eating. Her stomach was so sore from giving birth and she hadn't had much time to recover yet. It was the same soreness that kept her from waking Danny and asking him to get her food. Might seem a little rude, but hey, she had just given _birth_. To _two_ babies. She was tired, hungry, and tired and hungry.

It took some time, but after about an hour of being awake, it finally dawned on her that she was a mother. Maybe she'd just been so tired before to realize it, but yes, she was a mother. The responsibilities of motherhood didn't hesitate to slap her in the face. She was here, now. She was a mother, forever. She had fretted over this before, but now that the twins had actually been born... Now it was all different. It was so new to her. Heck, she didn't know what she was doing! It wasn't exactly like she'd prepared for this her whole life!

She gently placed a hand on her flattened stomach, as if to assure herself that she was no longer pregnant. As to be expected, there was no movement. No kicks, punches, or hiccups. She sighed, but she wasn't quite sure why. She knew this day was coming; she'd known for a long time now, ever since the day that stupid pregnancy test turned up positive. That little positive sign had turned out to be two little positive signs. And now those two little positive signs were out of her belly. What was she going to do? She was way too young to parent two children. Yeah, she had Danny, and he was a great guy. But he wasn't the father and eventually the twins would figure that out when they discovered they didn't have ghost powers. At that moment, what would they think of their mother? They would love Danny forever and for always, but that was moreso because he could be their friend if nothing else. It wasn't like that for her. She was their mother and nothing on Earth could change that. Therefore, when they found out Danny wasn't their father, they would wonder who was. And because she would refuse to tell them, they would come to the false conclusion that she had gotten knocked up.

How would that make them feel? Sam didn't have the heart to do that to them. She wanted to say it would've been better if they were never born at all, but for some reason her mind scowled at her for even thinking that.

Danny woke up from the sunlight that now lit his face. He looked around and everything that had happened the day prior came rushing back to him. Sam had finally had the twins; he was finally a father. Well...sorta. It didn't really matter to him whether he was their biological dad or not, he was the one they would grow to look up to as a dad, and that was what counted. Just because they didn't share the same blood didn't mean for a second that he loved them any less. He would treat them as his own, even though that meant discipline and at necessary times tough love. But it also meant ice cream parlor visits and picnics. He had been looking forward to it since...well, he really didn't remember.

Immediately, he glanced over to check if Sam was awake yet. He was surprised to see that she was. He was going to greet her, wish her a good morning, but halted himself when he picked up on the distress she was emitting. She probably didn't even know how much it was showing. Scratch that, she probably didn't even know he was awake yet.

He pushed himself up off the chair and leaned on the plastic railing of her bed, using his crossed arms as support. "Something on your mind?"

She jumped. In that instant it became obvious that she had been too lost in her thoughts to notice him.

"Don't do that!" she yelled. The yelling part of it wasn't intentional, and it drew in the attention and concern of a nurse.

"Are you okay, miss?" a bashful-looking nurse peeped. She kept herself half-hidden behind the strong wooden door and refused to make eye contact.

"Uh, yeah. Sorry about that," Sam answered.

The nurse nodded and backed out of the room. The pair returned to their conversation immediately, on a much softer level.

"Is something on your mind?" the halfa repeated.

Sam rolled her eyes and gave him the sarcastic look that said nothing was wrong.

Unconvinced, he perked and eyebrow.

They held their positions for what was surely the longest time in history. The silence lingered thickly in the air, as if reigning over them. It was Danny who decided at last that the evil silence was to be shattered. It was Sam, after all, and he needed to know what was bothering her.

"Sam..." he coaxed. "You _know_ I can see past that look."

She dropped the look immediately with that comment. The goth sighed and began telling him her concerns about the twins that were likely to arise in the distant future, and how when that day came she hadn't the slightest clue what to tell them or how to handle it. She told him everything, including what she assumed the twins would think of her as and why. She also had newer concerns, like what color hair they would have, what school they would attend, what foods they might possibly be allergic to, and most importantly, how two teenagers that hadn't even finished school were going to manage to provide for two young children. Even a subconscious concern squirmed out at the end; her parents. What were they going to think of her? What would they think of the twins? Would she ever even hear from them again? Would they let her see them again? Did they know about the babies' birth yet? There were just too many questions Sam was throwing at the poor guy; he couldn't even keep up with all of them!

Danny had caught most of what Sam said, but it still didn't prevent the sheer impact of shock that came with hearing Sam talk about her parents. This was the first time she'd so much as mentioned them since they threw her out. After that, she hadn't talked to them, visited them, or even thought about them. Well, the thought part of it was uncertain, being as Danny couldn't exactly read the goth's mind. He read her emotions and body language pretty well, but he'd give up just about anything to read her mind.

Gosh... To suddenly hear her parents being brought up... And after all this time... He had yet to forgive them for what they did to their own daughter. He couldn't understand why or how Sam could still care about them. Nevertheless, she was absolutely right. Her parents had no knowledge whatsoever of the babies or what happened after she'd been kicked out. They still thought he was the real dad!

Originally, he was planning to wait for her rant to come to a stop, and then plant a kiss on her cheek to be all romantic and mushy, like he knew she loved. Despite being a goth, Sam had her tender side that she had few times shown. And she'd only shown her vulnerability to him. He was her confidant. Now that plan was totally ruined.

As Danny tried to sort his thoughts and decide what to do or say next, Sam waited impatiently for an answer. She was just fifteen; she still needed and wanted guidance. She wanted to know what she should do now.

Probably seven long minutes passed by, the slowest minutes ever, before Danny had collected his bearings. He took a deep breath and blinked. No matter how much he thought about it, the shock of her parents just wouldn't wear off.

"Uh, well, you said they didn't know that the baby was actually twins. They also don't know anything about the twins' birth. And frankly, you haven't called them in forever. So...you know, why don't you call them now and tell them everything?" he suggested.

Although she already knew he was probably going to say that, her eyes widened at the thought of it. The fact that after all this time, she'd actually sat there and blurted out numerous mentions of her parents, well, it sent her own brain into overdrive. It was a big deal. In fact, it was unnerving. Not like she could run away from all her problems, but she didn't want to call them and tell them. It'd be easier if someone else... She sighed in frustration. who was she kidding? It wouldn't be _easier_!

She could just imagine her parent fuming at her even as they watched her, still in a considerable amount of pain, laying in the hospital bed. she could see it now; her parents chiding her for everything she'd done, her father screaming his lungs out at Danny for something he never actually did, her mother seeing the twins and scowling... Oh...the list just went on and on...

"No... I'm already exhausted as it is. I don't think I have the strength to deal with them right now," she told Danny.

"I don't think you'll have to deal with them if you told them everything," he replied. He didn't give her a chance to say a single word before adding, "And I mean _everything_ everything."

She gasped involuntarily. H-how could he even bring that up at a time like this? EVERYTHING EVERYTHING? No way! No! Sam didn't realize it, but her face heating up with renewed rage, and Danny was realizing what he'd just done. And boy did he regret it. Sam tell her parents EVERYTHING EVERYTHING... Argh! It wasn't going to happen!

"Danny! Darn it! Augh! No! I...! I-I..." The goth found herself unable to talk about it and despite her efforts of courage, couldn't so much as fumble for the right words. There simply weren't any words left in her. What had truly happened...what had really happened to get her pregnant wasn't ever Danny, it was the simple fact that she was female. If she hadn't been born a girl, none of this would ever have happened. She would still live with her parents, she would still be living the life of a normal teenager, and she wouldn't have all these scars on her body. It was all one stroke of bad luck that led to nothing but misfortune and misery.

It didn't take long for the halfa to try calming her down. Her rage was morphing rapidly into despair.

"Hey, c'mon, Sam. You know how I am. Clueless, remember?" he said, nervously chuckling at his timely reference to "Clueless 1". It didn't have much of an effect on Sam. It might've helped, but it definitely didn't finish its job. He quickly added, "I'm sure your parents won't give you a hard time, even if they don't know everything everything. You could just tell them everything instead, you know. O-Or you don't have to talk to them at all. How about this! You do whatever you think is best. Hah? Whadya say?"

Sam held up her index finger and motioned for him to come closer. As soon as he followed her instructions and leaned over the railing to hear whatever it was she had to say, she swiftly grabbed the collar of his shirt. He jerked at the unexpected action, but refrained from pulling her over the railing. She pulled him ever so gently close to her face. The horrible look on her face was gone, replaced by one of tenderness and care. It was one of her most charming faces, and one she revealed to Danny and _only_ Danny. He had earned that face, that side of her that he never knew she had. He had, after all, on several occasions proven himself worthy of it. Even now he refused to move, knowing that she wanted him to stay there until she decided what to do with him.

The young couple had created a bond of unbreakable friendship over the course of so many years. When they were little kids, they never would've fathomed that their friendship would grow stronger and stronger, until it surpassed the relationship between her and Tucker and became some thing so much more, so much better, something that they had denied for years. She didn't know when exactly it started, but one day the things she found in him that were lame and provoking became adorable, attractive, and charming. It was amazing at that moment, because it was as if she woke up one day and suddenly loved Danny, her best friend. The more he did those stupid, irritating things, the more she wanted to be with him. He was unique, different from the rest. He was protective of both her and Tucker, but one day he had started getting angry when Sam began looking at other guys. She hadn't noticed it right away, granted, but eventually she caught on. Many times she had tried to slip him little discreet hints that she liked him, but he was completely oblivious, too hung up on Paulina to notice anything beyond the guys flirting with Sam.

It was with these sweet thoughts in mind the goth pulled Danny even closer. Danny was good to her. He never treated her like crap, unlike many of the students in their school. When he learned she was pregnant, he stayed right by her side, through thick and thin. No matter what she did, he kept on loving her. No matter where she went, he kept on following her. No matter how much danger she managed to get in, he kept on protecting her. He chased away her worst nightmares. He did nothing but try to make her happy. He cared about her and the twins above all else.

She took it upon herself to travel the rest of the distance until she reached his lips. He'd been halfway expecting it. It was actually pretty funny, the new power she held over him. By now they could be considered a couple, and she already thought of herself as belonging to Danny. Normally, she'd say that she didn't belong to anyone, but if that person was Danny, then she could just as easily take it back. She _wanted_ him to put a stamp on her, she _wanted_ him to acknowledge her as his, she _wanted_ him to mark her as taken by him.

She'd discovered after a short period of time that as soon as she started the kiss, the halfbreed had passionately returned it. He was careful not to be too rough, and made sure Sam was equally enjoying it.

The kiss, along with their bubble, was broken as the door opened again. They had only enough time to part and catch their breath before they were both in full view of Maddie and Jack. Jazz had school today, and her teachers were relentless. She wouldn't be able to come.

"Hi sweeties!" Maddie squealed.

Jack noticed his son was leaning over the railings of the hospital bed. "Son, what exactly are you doing?"

The halfa peered down at Sam, blushed, and then smiled nervously. "G'yah... You know me, Dad, I'm just...you know, trying to get comfortable. Hey, did you know the best way to stretch your hamstrings is by leaning over the bed rails?"

"Uh...huh..." his mother sighed sarcastically.

The rest of the day was going to be long and hard, the couple just knew it. And then to think that the babies were going to be one in just a year...

Hoo boy.

**A/N**

**WOO-HOO! Feelin' top notch today! And it works out for you guys because you get to read this mushy, gummy-bear-soft piece of crap! WOO! Haha, just messing with you. Seriously, how do you like the story so far? If you get confused in about four or five more chapters, just take a little glance back at the epilogue of Flowers Will Bloom. And keep in mind that I DID mention that it would not be shown in this story because I feel there was enough angsty stuff in that story to last you for another five years. But, hey, if you want more angst, why, you're more than welcome to read it again.**

**Anyway, just like last story, I'm going to have a review thing going on here. I'll continue if I get thirty-one (31) reviews. Judging by how many I got on the first chapter, which was twenty reviews exactly, I highly doubt this is too much. Or at least I hope not. :P**

**THANK YOU FOR YOUR AWESOME REVIEWS! YOU ALL ROCK SO MUCH!**

**Right, now that I got that out of my system, your review replies (you earned 'em ;D):**

**_DXSGirl123_- Wow, so you had to tell me in all caps, huh? XD Just joking! Thanks for the support! ;) I'll need it.**

**_SonOfLucifer_- Oh, sorry about that. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to tell me.**

**_Codiak_- Mah... STUPID CELL! If you're getting a new number, tell me. No wonder you didn't return my texts! Haha! I'm all better now. :P Feeling kinda writing-hyper right now actually.**

**_Looka'sMagicHell_- Yayz for the happy dance! XD You don't know my immunity to illness, do you? I like NEVER get sick! Up until that day, I hadn't been sick in three years. ;D New CMF record! Yeah, I vow to finish this story, too.**

**_RainingHearts4Ever_- Hey, cute new profile picture! Yap! Da sequel, just as promised.**

**_MariaPhantom8998_- Ah, I don't think it was that good; but I'm not changing it because I don't want to risk messing up the work that I've finally gotten down. Well, I plan on it being just as good but not better; the original is usually better than the sequel anyway. Plus, I don't want to drown out the Flowers Will Bloom since it was my best work ever. :D I'm so proud of it! Thank you!**

**_DannySamLover20_- I will; I'm going to keep this story going until the end!**

**_Lucifers. Angel. 93_- Okay, forgive the spaces, but I figured out that fanfiction counts your username as a website due to all the dots. It's the only way to show your name. I'll try to, but I don't want to make any guarantees yet.**

**_swiftie13_- *takes balloon* Aw. No one's ever given me a get-well balloon over the internet before. D'aw, I feel so special!**

**_DXSF_-Thanks!**

**_Skye of the Night_- lolz! Yeah, probably. I was shocked that my first chapter, so short, got twenty reviews!**

**_emoluv4ever_- Aw, thanks! I'm both flattered and honored!**

**_Titansgirl-otherstuff_- XD The evil forced of illness? Yeah... Where DID all that come from? XD**

**_Thephantomprince_- lolz, and I can tell you reviewed all the chapters too. Haha! Just kidding. Glad you read it! Frankly I thought the first chapter could've been better, a little more detailed, you know? But I guessed it turned out okay.**

**_ChristinCC_- Thank you!**

**_memo_- Yeah, sorry about that... If you want me to change it, I'm open to suggestions.**

**_Gracie407_- Tsk tsk tsk, not telling. XD You'll be surprised!**

**_shadowspecter13_- T_T I know! I got sick and right when I was almost done I went trick-or-treating and got sick again! CURSE YOU COLD WEATHER! **

**_DPchick_- Thanks, I'm feeling better now.**

**_DPraven_- Can't tell ya; if I did, it would ruin the story.**

**Um, okay, so you guys know what I said up above, right? Well, I went trick-or-treating and got sick AGAIN and right when I was almost done writing you guys' review replies. Sorry about that. I chose the wrong time to get sick. This chapter was also delayed by one of my teachers. I have to write a story for her. I ALSO had to write a story that I hope can be submitted to a writing contest. Supposedly that could win me TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS in scholarship! :D I'm so frikin excited! Of course it was like twenty-four pages long, so that would be why it took awhile. Plus there's my other schoolwork, and then I have to renew my muse for this story. Alot of stuff happening right now and I'm not sure when the next chapter will come out.**

**AHEM! PLEASE READ THIS! Many of you think that the title was depressing and I'm sure it's led you to believe that someone will die. I didn't want this effect on you guys, so I want to change the title. However, I want it to be a title that you guys like, because you are my beloved reviewers/readers. GIVE ME AS MANY SUGGESTIONS AS YOU CAN AND SEE WHICH ONE MAKES IT TO THE TITLE!**

***Go fast because fanfiction is being a jerk right now. (Anyone notice that I ALWAYS seem to have problems with this site?)**


	3. Chapter 3

~Chapter 3~

The twins, over the exciting and eventful course of one year, had undoubtedly developed their own personalities. Danny and Sam were busy parents, working literally day and night. Sam, being the only one who could breastfeed them when they were younger, was forced to drop out of high school. She was jobless, but was kept occupied by caring for the twins. She usually took a nap when they did.

Danny had really taken charge of his life. When he realized that high school and twins were simply too much for Sam, he took it upon himself to study hard so he could finish high school, that way he could provide for Sam and the children when he was an adult. She was counting on him for that reason exactly to get his diploma.

Lilith and Danny Junior, it turned out, couldn't take on the name of Fenton unless Sam changed her last name. But for that she needed her parents' consent. She still hadn't called her parents to tell them about the twins. For now, the babies' last name was Manson. It was a constant reminder to Sam of what had happened, but there were many times she thought of it as "for the best". Because from the man, she had gained her babies. She loved them despite who they were born to.

Danny loved the children as if they were his own. He had a nice little family going on with Sam right now, and his parents were proud that their son hadn't abandoned Sam, like most teen fathers do, and had eagerly helped raise the twins. Still, though, they were just teenagers, and Maddie and Jack stepped in at times to help them.

The halfa also found time for Sam. Occasionally he would ask his parents to watch the twins while he and Sam went on date. Maddie and Jack didn't mind, so long as they weren't forced to be the parents.

At night, too, Danny curled his arms around the goth. They had slept that way all this time mainly because Sam had grown to fear the dark, swearing she saw someone. Danny knew why she was so freaked out, and even though it sometimes got annoying, he lended her his protection from the imaginary people. It was better than her going crazy, though, so...

Alot had changed about Sam and Danny since the twins were born. They had both matured and started taking on the responsibilities of an adult. They had to in order to properly raise the babies.

And the babies had matured with their parents. Lilith was already walking, and it looked like Danny Junior was getting close. He was probably going to take his first step any day now; it was only a matter of time before one of his little feet kept him balanced as he stumbled around the room. Danny was looking forward to that day much more than Sam, probably because she was the one constantly running after them while Danny was at school. One of them could walk, and run at that, and the other crawled anywhere he could fit himself. It wasn't easy watching the twins, let alone getting them to eat. Their food preferences varied between them. You know how they say twins were practically identical? Not true in the slightest. Even though these little ones looked the same, aside from normal gender differences, they were the furthest thing from "alike". Lilith liked sweet and crunchy foods, while Junior liked bland and soft foods. Junior liked bread, Lilith liked crackers. Junior like pears, Lilith liked peaches. Junior liked applesauce, Lilith liked fresh strawberries. They would never eat the same thing as the other. Two separate meals had to be prepared to get either of them to eat.

It was a dying shame that Sam's parents couldn't see the twins. They could come over any time they wanted, but they never did. They never had. They probably never would. Maybe they would like the twins, maybe they wouldn't. Maybe if she summoned the courage to tell them what really happened, that the twins weren't really Danny's, then perhaps they would forgive her and actually visit form time to time. Heck, they hadn't even called since she had been kicked out. You would think that the least they could do was send a letter. But then again, they didn't know the story behind their grandchildren. Danny's parents, Jack and Maddie, and his sister, Jazz, didn't even know. Just like he promised, he had kept it a secret. Granted, he had pushed her several times to tell at least her grandmother, but even though she knew her grandmother wouldn't turn her back to her, Sam simply didn't have it in her. She feared that the old woman would have a heart attack or a stroke if she found out what happened. And she just couldn't do that to a family member.

Her parents were a different story. Because of the way they treated her, she figured they didn't even deserve to be entrusted with such a huge secret. They had been vile, throwing her out of the house. She was only fifteen when they did that. How could they have abandoned her? And with such cruel words! It was heartbreaking and it stung far worse than any hornets' nest.

Oh, and let's not forget about that awful time she'd spent tearing flesh, ripping the blade from one side to the other. She had stopped that permanently. But her parents didn't know about it. In fact nobody knew about it. Nobody but Danny anyway.

Sam looked down at her arm, hidden underneath a white long-sleeve shirt. She was still ashamed of what she'd done. It had become her greatest regret. And to think that at one time she saw that pocketknife as a harmless, stress-relieving object. She had been masking those innumerable scars since she first started, and ever since she stopped. There was always cosmetic surgery, which she planned on one day having in order to remove the scars, but she couldn't do that until she inherited her parents' fortune. They didn't have the money right now, but she was lucky to be the heiress to so much money. And in her parents' will, she was also the heiress to a huge company currently owned by her parents. She knew all about business from the way she grew up. Her parents had prepared her for the day she would take over the company. Sam had always been advanced in personal finance and pretty much any form of math...aside from physics. Physics had to be her worst subject.

Nobody knew about the scars, and nobody knew about why they were there. And nobody would ever know, aside from Tucker, who knew only half of it, and Danny, who knew all of it. Turned out, Danny had covered for Sam while she was in Other Ways. So literally nobody knew about the scars that covered her arms, thighs, and some of her belly. Well, except Jazz. Sam didn't know she knew, but she did. She'd seen the aftermath of her actions and had seen the pain it brought on her little brother. Jazz could never forget Danny's strangled, hurt voice and his tears of sadness. It was a horrible thing to watch. Heck, the boy had even accepted a hug from his older sister! That had to say something if nothing else did.

And speaking of Danny...

He walked in on Sam, who had just gotten out of the shower. She screamed out in alarm. Thankfully she had a towel wrapped around her, but still...it was embarrassing. The halfa quickly covered his eyes and blushed. "Sorry!"

Hiding herself behind the bathroom door, she asked what he wanted.

He hesitated, which meant it couldn't be good...which meant it wasn't something she wanted to hear. Which meant her wrath could come out...

"Danny...?" she asked cautiously.

"Um... I made a phone call," he answered.

"So? Why'd you scare me just to tell me that?"

"Well...the phone's still ringing. I think you should be the one to talk to...uh, the person on the other end," he replied.

Everything was silent for a long few moments, the only sounds interrupting at intervals being the muffled phone rings.

A growl was heard coming from the bathroom. "Danny, stop thinking about me naked."

The poor boy blushed. "I wasn't! I swear!"

An unbelieving grunt was heard. Although technically, he already had seen her...sort of. He'd caught a glimpse when he'd cut the babies' umbilical cords. She'd been on his case about that ever since she'd recovered from labor. It wasn't like it was his fault though! She gave him permission to go down there. But it was only a glimpse and besides, he'd passed out afterward.

One of the twins was heard crying.

"Danny, can you get them? Just give me the phone. And knock if you need me, no barging in this time," she said, cracking the door slightly so she could get the phone.

She picked it up and waited for the person on the other end to pick up. It took like two more minutes before they did.

"Hello?" a male voice said.

"This is Sam Manson," she replied.

"Ah! Ms. Manson! Did you need anything? I'd be more than happy to help! How is that baby of yours doing, hm? Getting along as a mother?" the voice gushed.

"Uh...who am I speaking to again?" she asked.

There was a laugh on the other end. "It's Mr. Johnson, remember? I was your butler?"

"Oh, yeah!" Sam's voice suddenly caught in her throat as she realized who Danny was trying to call. She listened to Mr. Johnson's excited questions about her and the "baby". He didn't know that the one baby had turned out to be two babies. Everybody but her family, it seemed, knew about the twins. Her parents, that's who Danny wanted her to talk to.

But he just didn't understand... It wasn't easy, like telling _his_ parents. Her parents were much more overbearing. They still didn't know anything. They didn't know what had become of their daughter or her babies, which as far as they knew was only one baby. They didn't if there had been any complications with her pregnancy or with the birth...heck, they hadn't even shown up to witness the babies literal birthday, as in, the actual day of their birth. Now they were one and her parents hadn't shown up to the twins' birthday. The babies had never met their maternal grandparents, and their biological paternal grandparents didn't even know they existed. But it could've been worse. Danny's parents could've rejected her just like her own, but they didn't. Instead they welcomed her into their home, their family.

Mr. Johnson seemed to know the reason for the call and said, "I'm sorry to say, but your parents aren't home right now, Ms. Manson. They've gone to the store. May I take a message?"

Sam sighed and sniffled. Memories of how_...right _life had been before the twins flooded her mind. Everything was how it should've been. She went to school, made good grades, studied hard, helped Danny catch ghosts, hung out with Tucker at the Nasty Burger, harbored a deep hatred for Paulina...and lived with her parents. Her _real_ parents. The ones that raised her since she was born. And the ones that she missed more than ever now.

Tears formed at the edges of her eyes. She tried to blink them away but it only pushed them from her eyes to her cheeks. She didn't bother wiping them off. So they just ran down her face, dropping off at her chin. Her mascara began to bleed into her salty tears and soon little streams of deluded black painted lines on her face. Sam the strong, Sam the unbreakable...was brought down just by the mere thought of her parents.

"Uh...Ms. Manson...? Are you still there?" Mr. Johnson asked her.

She sniffled again and blinked through the tears. "No, no message."

"Are you okay, Ms. Manson?" he asked.

She could do nothing more than hang up. Her parents should've meant nothing to her by now. She should've learned her lesson by now. But it was never good, was it? She still loved and missed her parents, even after they'd disowned her _while_ she was pregnant with a rapist's children! And even if the twins really were Danny's, why should it matter to them? She was independent, sure, but she was also very young to be on her own. She was lucky Danny's parents had been more understanding than her own. She was lucky they'd taken her in. And she was lucky to even have shelter at this point. She'd taken for granted the luxuries of her real parents and the so-called "love" that they'd given her. They didn't love her... They threw her out, left her on the streets, didn't even check up on her to see if she was okay? She almost died! Three times! And if she _had_ died, would they have known? No. would they have even cared?

...No.

**A/N**

**Well, we this is where we get a little insight to the everyday lives of Sam and Danny's new and domestic life. If you're a new reader (I know I've been gone for awhile now, which is why I'm saying this) then you might want to read Flowers Will Bloom, the story that practically birthed Flowers Will Grow. You'll understand everything if you read it, and you'll be surprised at some of the twists I've thrown in there. **

**Well, I'm really hoping for seventy (70) reviews, I want to see if I can pull that off. But because it's a lot to ask, I'll settle for sixty (60) reviews. The more reviews, the faster the update.  
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**Even if you don't review, though, I want to thank you for reading the story. :) So thank you, readers (and of course, reviewers too)!  
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**Now, as always, I'll answer your reviews for the last chapter:**

**_Sunshine-Midnight123_- :) Yeah, I thought I would just kinda put a little emotion in it.  
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**_RainingHearts4Ever_- lol I just thought of the hamstring part and I knew I had to put it in there. And hey, I actually liked those titles. Flowers Will Grow just seemed to fit better since this story is basically about the new life Sam and Danny are living.  
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**_Inuyuke_- lol Well after Flowers Will Bloom, I kinda got the hang of writing mushy fluffy stuff.  
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**_Codiak_- Thanks for the review. Also, you're going down. ;)  
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**_DPraven_- I thought I'd keep the "Flowers Will..." part because I saw it very fitting for the sequel to Flowers Will Bloom.  
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**_Looka'sMagicHell_- Oh, I know. I'm sorry. I've got so many stories, but there was also a problem with fanfiction; it wouldn't let me update any of my stories. It's obviously fixed now though.  
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**_swiftie13_- lol Thanks. I actually don't get sick very often, just a string of bad luck I guess. And your ideas weren't bad. XD Everyone keeps saying that, but their ideas are actually good.  
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**_Skye of the Night_- Thank you. :) As you can see, I went with "Flowers Will Bloom". Thank you for your help, it's much appreciated.  
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**_Me XD_- -_-" There's a reason people use pen names, you know. Yeah, went with the Flowers Will Grow title.  
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**_Shadowkatze_- Thanks! Oh, and it's fine. :)  
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**_ChristinCC_- Thank you, and I did stay with my little theme. Figured it would be perfect for a sequel.  
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**_Phanfan925_- Yeah...sorry about the wait. Fanfiction wouldn't let me update my stories for a long time. Then after the problem was fixed, I got horrible writers' block.  
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**_AquaLotus_- First things first, I love your pen name! Secondly, thank you. :)  
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**_Basia_- I'm very aware of the grammar I use in my stories. I do run-ons and fragments because I know that without emotion, no story is interesting. So they're there for emotional purposes. Again, I am so sorry about the wait... :( Fanfiction wouldn't let me update my stories for the longest of times, and when it was fixed, I tried to finish this chapter, but I had writers' block. And thank you for the part about FWB, I hope you continue reading my stories. Thank you for your review. It's much appreciated.  
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**_DXSGirl123_- lol That's funny. XP And well...hm...you know what? I think I'll leave that a mystery. ;D  
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**_SilverWolf329_- Thank you. :) And thank you again. I never imagined so many people would like Flowers Will Bloom. And I can't tell you how delighted I am to have read your review. :D  
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**_Rogue Alice_- :P I try. And I'll keep working on this story. I promise, even if it takes me half my lifetime, I WILL finish this story. And who knows, maybe there will be a sequel to this sequel! ;)  
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**_Kitty in Boots_- :( So sorry! Fanfiction wouldn't let me update my stories for the longest time, then when the problem was fixed, I had writers' block. Hope I can get back on your good side.  
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**_puppets4ever_- I didn't want this story to go on hiatus. Fanfiction wouldn't let me update any of my stories, then I had writers' block when the problem was fixed.  
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**_DeviousAngel1998_- Thanks! :D I try to do my best.  
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**_actoz_- Aw... :( I bet you could write something ten times better than this. But I'm glad to know you think I'm doing a good job.  
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**_Shadowspecter13_- Now, actually. ;P  
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**_The Guy in Black And White_- I promise you, I WILL finish this story!  
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**_writergirl142_- I'm definitely continuing this. ;) You didn't think I'd give up on a story so many people love, did you?  
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**For anyone who doesn't know this: I never WANTED this story to take so long. I wanted to update right away, but then fanfiction wouldn't let me update my stories, and when the problem was fixed, I got writers' block. But now CMF is back, and I promise you all, I'll finish this story. I'll make it good, I'll make it worth your time! And I am REALLY sorry for the inconveniences. But know that I'm not giving up on this story, I'll work on it to my best ability, and I'll finish it.  
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	4. Chapter 4

~Chapter 4~

Sam sighed as she rocked the twins to sleep. Junior still didn't sleep through the night. His sister was an easy baby though, she was independent and liked to be left alone while she slept.

Danny had crossed the line today. And to make matters worse, it wasn't just any old line he'd crossed. No, it happened to be Sam's sore spot. The most delicate of all the lines in existence. And he knew he'd crossed it, because he'd been avoiding her all day since the call ended, not exactly excited to be in trouble with her. Because remember...Sam had wrath. A lot of wrath. He knew it, Tucker knew it, and when the twins were old enough to understand English, they would know it. But tonight, at least, she was too tired, both emotionally and physically, to pick a fight with him. He could relax...for now.

She yawned and pushed the thought of her parents and Mr. Johnson out of her head. They couldn't bother her anymore. Heck, they shouldn't even mean anything to her now! It was stupid to love someone who didn't want you. Had she always been a burden to her family? Aside from her grandma, that is. Her grandma loved her very much. Sometimes she was smothered and showered with the pure love her grandma radiated.

She slowly blinked, just now noticing that her eyes were heavy. An invisible anvil was hooked to an invisible chain that attached to her eyelids, weighing them down, refusing to let her fully open her eyes.

Danny should be in so much trouble right now...but...all she wanted to do to him was wrap his arms around her and sleep peacefully, knowing that she had what nobody else had. Danny. She didn't love him because he was Danny Phantom. She didn't love him because he was a hero. She loved him because he was there for her. He'd protected her, saved her, loved her... Since when had she saved him? She'd done nothing but get herself into trouble, but he'd made sure to do whatever he could to fix things. Things would never go back to normal. But he tried his level best to make her happy despite the past she'd endured. That was why she loved him. She loved Danny Fenton. Everyone else loved Danny Phantom.

She lowered her head and closed her eyes. It would only be for a second... Or maybe...maybe only...a minute...or two would be nicer...maybe three...or...four...or...

The rocking chair stopped rocking and the babies continued to sleep peacefully in their mother's gentle arms. Lilith moved a bit, snuggling closer to her mother just as she did on the day of her birth. Danny Junior snored lightly, just like Danny himself. Neither of them stirred as they were carefully lifted from their mother's arms and put into their crib, covered with a blanket, and left to sleep with sweet baby dreams. Sam, too, was picked up with two strong arms. She sighed softly as she continued to sleep. The arms quietly put her down on a soft mass, and covered her with a blanket.

Lips lightly pecked her cheek as a voice said, "I'll always be here to kiss your tears away."

* * *

><p>The next morning was...interesting, to say the least. Normally Danny would wake very early to study a little bit before school, just in case of pop quizzes, but he would wake up with Sam still in bed, having not yet woken. Things were basically back to the way everything used to be centuries ago, when sex roles were set in stone and enforced. Danny was the father who went to work and Sam was the mother who stayed home to look after the kids. She always made sure to encourage Danny to study up as much as sanely possible so he could finish high school and hopefully be able to move on to college. If he could get a job that brought in decent money, he could support the family when they moved out. It was going to be difficult, even with Maddie and Jack helping them.<p>

And that was precisely why Danny thought Sam should clear the air with her parents. She hadn't talked to them for a very long time and he knew it hurt her inside. But this was Sam, and if she didn't want to talk to her parents, she wouldn't. In fact, she was so dead-set on keeping everything a secret from her parents that he was overly ready to tell them what happened himself. The only thing stopping him was the vow he'd made to Sam not to tell anyone without her consent first. That promise was a blessing for the most part, but right now it was nothing more than a curse. Why she was so stubborn about it all, he would never know.

This morning was different because Sam wasn't in bed sleeping. This time Danny woke up to find his arms _free _for once. Sam wasn't even in the room. He looked towards the crib. The babies were still sleeping, which meant she hadn't gotten up to feed them or rock them back to sleep. It wasn't like her to suddenly leave like this.

He jumped out of bed and quietly searched the room. Drawers were pulled out, bedsheets were taken off, and notebooks were flipped through. There wasn't a note. She...was it possible that she had returned to her parents? Maybe, but was it really necessary to panic him all the time? As if he hadn't been through enough already!

He groaned. "Sam, you better have a good reason for this..."

But in that instant, unnerving images crept into his mind. He wanted to believe she had left on her own, but what if she hadn't? What if she had been taken? But how...? How would someone manage to sneak in the house, take Sam, and leave without a sound? A ghost couldn't have done it. They were always so noisy. Desiree was probably the quietest off all the lot, but she couldn't possibly have a motive for kidnapping Sam. Johnny 13 and Ember were also quiet sometimes, but they had nothing to gain from Sam.

Danny shook his head. It didn't add up, but now he knew he didn't have to check the Ghost Zone.

He ran into his sister's room and shook her awake, holding his hand over her mouth so she wouldn't scream.

"Jazz," he said once she was awake and aware that he wasn't an intruder, "you need to watch the twins."

She blinked.

"Sam's gone, I have to find her. I need you to babysit for awhile," he explained. "I'll be back as soon as I find Sam."

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><p>She stood there. It was frigid morning air, but it was refreshing, the kind of air that worked better than any coffee. So she stood there, thinking about things. She had left Danny sometime in the middle of the night, knowing the twins were safe with him. She had made her way here, back to her parents' house. Back to the place she never thought she would go back to... Yet here she was, right on the doorstep. It had been a long time since she'd last seen or heard her parents. She wondered what they would think of her now. They already knew the "baby" had been born, especially considering they knew she was pregnant last time she saw them. But they didn't know the bab<em>y<em> had turned out to be bab_ies_. It might spark twice as much hatred. They also didn't know the babies weren't really Danny's. And they would be disappointed in her if they found out she had been lying to them this whole time.

She sighed, unsure whether she had the strength to knock on that door. It was much easier to stand here in the cold than to attempt going inside and talking to her parents. The last talk didn't go so well. At least her butler was happy for her. That made one person. She wondered if her parents would be happy to see her again. Maybe it would be something like a family reunion, where everyone was all excited to meet up again and chat about how things were going, how people were doing these days, what was happening lately...things like that.

But it didn't sound like something her parents would do. They had _disowned_ her. And it wasn't just a bout of anger, a spur of the moment kind of thing. They never spoke to her once since then. They didn't call her, didn't even bother to find out where she lived now. And Danny wondered why she didn't want to see her parents... Answer was pretty obvious but there was a reason Danny's nickname was Clueless One.

Besides, it wasn't like he would understand. He had kind, loving parents that would do anything for him. They even took her in. They gave her a home, they got all excited when they found out about the babies, even more so when they found out it was twins. She wondered how they would feel if they knew the truth, if they knew Danny wasn't the father. Would they still think of themselves as grandparents? Would they be angry, sad, frustrated?

She took a step back. If they wanted her, they wouldn't have dumped her on the streets. And even if they wanted her back, she had a family to take care of. She had two beautiful children, two proud grandparents, a wonderful aunt, and a loving father. She was a mother now. Danny was a father now. Maddie and Jack were grandparents now. Jazz was an aunt now. She couldn't leave her family. It wouldn't be fair to the kids if they were taken from Danny to come back here, where they were unwanted. They deserved to live with a father who loved them and would give his life to save theirs. They needed a mother who would nurture them and never kick them out.

Danny had done everything he could for those children, even before they were born. Something told Sam he had viewed her and the kids as his family for a long time, far before she knew it. He...come to think of it, he acted just like a husband. What would it be like to marry a ghost-human hybrid? It wouldn't be so bad to get a house together. And he would look incredible in a tuxedo, waiting for her at the alter. He would tell her she looked stunning, and she would smile. They would live as a true family, just like any other. Danny would have a job by then. He would come home every night and spend time with the kids. Sam would cook dinner for everyone. They would talk and laugh around the table. And at night, when the kids were tucked into bed, she could make Danny hold her again.

"Sam!" Danny called out as he landed behind her.

She turned around. He was bent over, breathless. She didn't care whether he was Fenton or Phantom. Danny was Danny and that would never change. She walked up to him. There it was, in his eyes. The kind of love only Danny could give her. He was kind of like a dog, the way he always came back for her. A big, soft, loyal dog. How did he do it, anyway? He stuck by her through _everything_. The rape, the cutting, the tears, you name it. It didn't matter what she did. He would always be there, even if she didn't want him to be. Even now, when left without any hint as to where she was going, he looked for her. He never gave up. Ever. He loved her too much for that and under no circumstances would he let her go. And she didn't want him to let go.

He opened his mouth to speak, but she quickly wrapped her arms around his neck. It made him shut his mouth. She didn't know if he knew what was coming or not, but she knew and she knew he deserved this for all he'd done for her. She gently pulled his head down and covered his lips with hers. She felt him smile. The surroundings seemed to vanish, and all worry removed itself from the both of them. Sam was fine. Danny was fine. Well, scratch that. Danny was on cloud nine right now. And why wouldn't he be? Every time Sam showed even the slightest bit of affection towards him, he couldn't help but smile. She was already his, but...he was Clueless One. He was still kind of shy around her. It didn't hinder him from putting as much effort as possible into the relationship though.

They parted.

"I think I did something right for once," Danny teased.

Sam smiled.

**A/N**

**I have no excuses. However, let it not be said that I'm not an author of my word. I promised you I would finish Flowers Will Bloom and I did. I promised you I would finish Flowers Will Grow and I will. No matter the length of time it takes, I will finish this story!**

**I'm hoping for seventy-five (75) reviews, but I realize how angry you all must be with me, so there is no actual review quota.  
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**Now the long-awaited review replies:  
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**_SilverWolf329_- Thanks. :) And I can't tell you what's going to happen, sorry. But your idea is very interesting. Just remember, I've put an epilogue at the very end of Flowers Will Bloom, and this has to fit into that epilogue.  
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**_Inuyuke_- Yes, and I'm sorry for the slow updates. I've gotten my motivation back and I'm ready to get my butt in gear! :) Expect faster updates. Yeah, that whole situation was actually an accident, if you can believe it. I realized it in the middle of FWB and had to build on it.  
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**_The-Unsung-Writer_- Thank you very much. :D Well...actually, yes, I do have a passion for writing. Oh wow, this is so flattering. :D You have no idea how happy I was to read your review, I was literally on the brink of tears. Thank you so much! :'D  
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**_Guest_- Yeah, fanfiction finally fixed it. :( I'm sorry to say my slow update has no excuse.  
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**_puppets4ever_- That's alright. :)  
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**_writergirl142_- Wait no more. I've got mah zest back, my inspiration has struck me like lightning, and I'm BACK!  
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**_Guest_- Um...okay. Thanks?**

**_RainingHearts4Ever_- Wow, I can't believe you're one of the few people who has the patience to put up with me. :P Yes, that was the original idea, but I realized that it would be a little difficult to manage since the twins need to stay with their mother.  
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**_TheNinjaKitty13_- Uhhh... The next chapter is, sadly, now. I'm so sorry for the slow update. Molasses and syrup combined moved faster than this update.  
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**_LittleBoomBoom_- Thanks. :)  
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**_Guest_- I know, right? I was in and out of a sequel mode for a long time before I decided to do one shortly before I finish FWB.  
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**_DeviousAngel1998_- You think so? :D Thank you so much. Really, thank you tons. :)  
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**_Kitty in Boots_- :( I'm sorry! I need inspiration if I'm to produce good chapters. But fear not, I've gained it back and CMF is ready and rarin' to go!  
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**_KillingFieldz_- Heh heh... Yeah...sorry about that. Thanks. :)  
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**_BrittneyluvzChrist_- Count this as an official update. ;)  
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**_Favorite Daughter of Hades_- Thanks, and again I apologize for the slow update.  
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**Thank you to those who haven't given up on me. :) Even if you don't think so, your reviews mean a TON to me and they really encourage me to keep going.  
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	5. Chapter 5

~Chapter 5~

Three weeks later, after Danny had gotten home from school, Sam picked up Lilith and noticed something different about her. She had been playing with her brother and accidentally rolled over on him. She got stuck and her victim couldn't move. The day she was born, she had only a few tiny strands of hair. Now her hair was growing thicker and longer. And now it had color. It was somewhat faint, but she had brown hair. Not red, not black, not blonde. _Brown_. And by the looks of it, it would be a dark brown color. No one in her family had dark brown hair. No one in Danny's family had dark brown hair.

She pointed it out to Danny after everyone went to sleep for the night, including the twins. She explained that Lilith's hair would darken as she grew older, and once people noticed her hair was brown instead of black, they would have questions that were bound to be asked sooner or later.

"I was afraid this might happen," Danny murmured, just loudly enough for Sam to hear it.

She bit her lip.

"What are you going to do now?" he asked.

She ran her hands through her hair. Genetics...they sucked. Not Lilith, of course, she didn't suck! It was just...brown hair was one thing. Light brown hair, even that could be passed off. But dark brown? There was no way to explain that without telling the truth. And even though Danny thought of the twins as his own, the rest of his family might not think that way. Knowing the truth could really let them down. Jazz was happy being an aunt, and her parents were equally happy being grandparents. So finding out that twins weren't actually Danny's could be a crushing blow. And worse, how would they feel about being lied to? And it wasn't a little white lie, it was a _huge_ lie.

"I don't know," she answered.

Danny took a deep breath and said, "There's always one option..."

Sam sat down on the bed and put her head in her hands, to relieve the stress if nothing else. "Danny, I don't know if I can-"

"Please," he interrupted. "This has been going on for a long time, we both know that. Now one of the twins has a dead giveaway and soon the other will, too. I know it's hard on you, Sam. If you can't tell anyone, then I can do it for you."

"Do you really think I haven't thought about that? What would your family say if they found out those children were made by a random guy who, by the way, I never _wanted_ to have sex with?"

"Look, Sam, it's not sex, first of all, and second of all, I don't think they would care where the twins came from. You're still their mother, that's all that matters," he replied.

"How can you know for sure? And what about Jazz? I don't want her explaining to me what I did wrong or why all this happened. I don't even want to _know_ why anymore! And I for one think she would care that the twins came out of rape!"

Danny didn't what else to say. Ever since the day of her first rape, Sam never even said the word anymore. Even he had to admit that the lie was too big for him to tell whether his family would be okay with it. And everyone had finally adjusted to having babies in the house. Not that he didn't know his family, but now he was starting to question their reaction to news like this. None of them had ever been put in a situation remotely_ similar_ to this. He himself had been so shocked that it was almost overwhelming. The only reason it had been different with him was because he didn't know Sam was pregnant. For his family, however, it would be completely different. The twins had already been born, and now they genuinely thought they were the biological grandparents. Would finding out the truth really change the way they felt about all this?

He remembered when Sam told him she'd been raped. She called herself disgusting. She figured he would think she was disgusting. But it wasn't her fault. She did the right thing by not having an abortion, but now the twins were going to give away the one thing she'd worked so hard to protect all this time. There was nothing they could do about it.

"You should think about telling them. You've been hiding this from everyone, and now it's time to stop. Either you tell them, or Lilith here will tell them." He gestured toward the sleeping baby. "Or you can let me do it for you."

"But I thought you wanted everyone to think you were the real dad," she said.

"I do, but things change. As much as I would like everyone to think I'm their real dad, someone's bound to find out the truth. Would you rather them keep asking you who the father is, or would you rather tell them so they _don't_ ask that?"

The goth sighed. "How long until they notice her hair?"

"Are you kidding? My mom's all over those two, she's bound to notice sooner or later."

"So basically, it's only a matter of time," she muttered.

"Exactly, so you need to choose fast."

"What do you think they would do if they figured it out on their own?" she asked.

"Honestly, I think they would be really mad at us for lying to them," he replied. "That's why I think it's better if someone tells them now, before they have a chance to figure it out."

She looked away, not sure she was able to bear looking him in the eye and knowing he was right. It could wait until tomorrow for sure, but it would have to be settled immediately if Danny's parents or sister started to question Lilith's hair color. Maddie, having been a mother of two for years, knew the baby's hair would darken. She would know it would turn out to be a dark brown color and she would wonder why. The only dark hair this family had was black. If Lilith's hair was black, her brother's would be black as well. It meant there would be no questioning whatsoever about the real parents since both Danny's and Sam's hair was black.

And even if she told them before they figured it out, how would she tell them? It would have to be put delicately, that was for sure... But depending on how she told them, it could either tick them off or make them cry. Their reactions were what worried her most. Her own parents had thrown her out and she hadn't heard from them since. Danny's parents were very understanding but they were also living a lie, thinking the twins were related to them. In truth his family had nothing to do with the twins...and it could crush them if they knew that.

But no matter the reaction, Danny was right. This secret would be exposed sooner or later, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She couldn't hide this much longer. In fact, she was already tired of hiding it. The twins' origins were of a man she didn't even know. And because he'd knocked her out after her second rape, she couldn't remember what he looked like. What would everyone else think of that? What would they think of _her_? Most importantly...what would they think of the twins?

What if the news came out wrong? What if they misinterpreted something she said? She didn't want to be thought of as a slut, not again! Nobody could tease her about having premarital sex-and some students had even spread rumors that she'd cheated on Danny-because she was tucked away safely inside the Fentons' house. But what if that would all change when and if she told them? What if something went wrong and this house became a prison? No, no! She couldn't go through all that again! And Danny wouldn't be able to help her if that happened. Maybe she wouldn't be kicked out again but everyone's view of her would change forever. She didn't want to be seen as the girl who bore two children out of rape. Kids weren't meant to be made from hatred, they were meant to be made from love. And if anyone found out, Sam and her children would never be seen the same way. What if Danny's family stopped loving them because of what really happened?

"Sam?" Danny's voice slowly brought her from her worries. "Sam, is everything okay?"

She nodded. The nightmares would come back tonight, and probably the next night. And probably the night after that, and the night after that... It could go on that cycle for months before they finally stopped again.

Dreading the images that would be conjured in her sleep, she got into bed, pulled up the covers, and told Danny to get into bed with her. She was tired and emotionally exhausted. She wouldn't...no...she _couldn't_ tell his family tonight. Her body was tired, her mind wanted to shut down for the night, and top of everything else, she didn't want to risk waking the twins up. Sleep had become the most precious thing in the world after she'd had them.

The bed shook as Danny tried to get comfortable. She knew what he was thinking. He was wondering why she couldn't go ahead and get it all over with. He wouldn't understand... But...he was absolutely right. They both knew he was right.

Soon enough the truth would squirm its way out into the world. From there it would all go downhill. And putting it off just wasn't a good idea. Sam would have no choice but to tell them tomorrow.

**A/N**

**So...how'd you like it? I almost forgot about the twins' hair! I guess I'll just blame their slow hair growth on being born prematurely. :/ I dunno. Well, it is what it is, so I hope you like it anyway. **

**Now, before I even give you the review quota OR the review replies, I NEED you to help me write the next chapter! I'm stuck between some ideas (they may appear in the next chapter or they may appear later in the story):  
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**1. Sam meets her parents but doesn't tell them what happened.  
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**2. Sam meets her parents and tells them everything.  
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**3. Sam doesn't meet her parents.  
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**4. Sam doesn't meet her parents but tells them what happened through a different means of communication.  
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**PLEASE, for the sake of this story if nothing else, pick a number and put that number in a review. The number that receives the most votes will be the one I use. But choose carefully! Think about what'll happen if your number is picked. On some of these, the twins could be taken away. Each one has a different possibility and all of them have future impacts that will influence the rest of the story.  
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**Now that that's out of the way, I'll update again when I get eighty-one (81) reviews. It's only six more, I doubt it'll be too much. Hopefully, considering I've lost so many readers.  
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**And finally, your review replies:  
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**_Inuyuke_- First of all, thanks for not giving up on me. :) You're one of my most loyal reviewers and I'm always happy to read your reviews, even if you don't believe me. Sorry if the wait felt too long, I went as fast as I could.  
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**_BooksAreMyVideogames_- Wow! :D Thanks!  
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**_puppets4ever_- You're welcome. :) I've actually been meaning to continue this for a long time, but I don't know what happened...  
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**_Sammi_- I made a promise to finish this story. I intend to keep it. ;)  
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**_TheNinjaKitty13_- Thank you. :) You tell me. Will she?  
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**_Looka'sMagicHell_- Danny is my favorite male character in the entire cartoon world, and Mabel of Gravity Falls is my favorite female character. Yeah, she didn't go to her parents, but I leave it up to you to decide the "yet" part.  
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**_ChristinCC_- Uh-oh! ;D Maybe you hear wedding bells, maybe you don't. I ain't givin' nuthin' away.  
><strong>

**_Favorite Daughter Of Hades_- Thank you. I'm letting you guys decide for me. Not because I'm too lazy, but because I'm SERIOUSLY stuck on this and I want to please at least most of you.  
><strong>

**_epic mabel_- lol Thanks, I'm honored. :)  
><strong>

**_PlasticPencils_- ... *gulp* o.o It...It's on the top...I swear!  
><strong>

**_HandmadeVeggies_- Well thank you. :) I'll continue this story, I promise.  
><strong>

**_Hazel Blue Mystery_- Well, don't speak too soon. He might break his promise because he can't take it anymore, or maybe he'll be put in a position where he has to break his promise. You never know.  
><strong>

**_Animalistic Ballistic_- Ah-ah-ah! I can't tell you. :P No spoilers.  
><strong>

**_Codiak_- Um...I...don't even know how to respond to that...  
><strong>

**In case anyone missed it, I need you to scroll back up and pick the idea you like most. Post the number corresponding to that idea in a review. When I check my reviews later, I'll tally the votes and use the idea that gets the most votes.  
><strong>


	6. Chapter 6

~Chapter 7~

It didn't take long for Sam to get to sleep last night and it didn't take her long to wake up early this morning. She wanted to wait until Danny was awake. There was no way she would ever have the courage to tell them she was raped. It would sound wrong to let someone else tell them, but she had been through more than enough and wasn't exactly eager to go through more.

Besides, being in Danny's arms... Every night she was in his arms but that safe feeling never went away. And all that ghost hunting had built up _alot_ of muscle mass. Being able to feel all that muscle beside her was...unbelievable. Maybe it was her girl hormones, but he wasn't just charming anymore. When exactly did he get all that muscle anyway? She really hadn't paid much attention to it until now. Maybe that was what made her feel safe in his arms. It sure made sense.

She looked up at him and started chewing on her lower lip. He was...he was every girl's dream guy. Yeah, so he had his quirks, but...boy was he cute. Really, _really_ cute. Her breath caught in her throat when he tried to turn over, only to be stopped by her body weight.

She looked at the clock. It was only an hour before he was supposed to wake up for school. The twins were still asleep; fortunately they'd slept through the night. She sighed. It was hard, being a parent. Especially when there were two babies of equal age to care for. Even Maddie had admitted she'd never had this problem. And although Danny couldn't be at home to help her watch the kids during the school week, Maddie and Jack helped out when she needed it most. Jazz absolutely adored the twins and loved to help out, but sadly she had a ton of work to do and usually wasn't able to babysit for long.

Jazz adored the twins...but so did her parents. Danny would never change his feelings toward the twins, but that didn't mean his family wouldn't. Maddie was older and more experienced. She was also a woman, meaning she would have the greatest chance of understanding everything. Jack was...well...you know...Jack. If anything, he should be the last person to know. Jazz was different. She was a girl, and pretty mature for her age, but she wasn't experienced and had never been a mother. She had never planned on having kids, at least not until she was twenty-five or older and married. She also viewed the world much differently. To her, every single thing had a psychological reason behind it.

Maddie would probably be the easiest one to tell about this mess. It was also for the best since she was around the babies the most often out of the other family members, including Danny. It wasn't that he didn't want to be around the twins, it was just that he always had to be away from them. And sometimes he would get home and have too much homework to do. It seemed as though Lancer refused to let up on him even when he still thought Danny was the dad. The only upside to that situation was that Danny had more practice on his schoolwork and made much better grades on his tests.

Even Tucker was backed up with work sometimes. He liked to help out with the twins until a dirty diaper came into play. But Sam wasn't very choosy about who helped out so long as it was someone she knew and trusted. She was grateful for any help though. And now she finally understood why mothers would complain about 'not having a nap since the baby was born'. A nap was the world's greatest blessing after you had one kid, let alone two.

* * *

><p>The next morning started as usual for Danny. Got up, got dressed, got ready, gathered up his backpack and work, kissed Sam and the twins goodbye, rushed out the door, and flew himself to school.<p>

At school, the same comments and questions kept being thrown at him, the only ones answered were those being thrown by Tucker. People at school constantly asked about the baby and how it was doing, if it was a boy or girl, what its name was. Ever since Sam dropped out, he was forced to bear the burden of everyone's nonstop interrogation. He didn't tell them anything. They didn't deserve the answers to their questions after the way they treated Sam. And he'd even told them that. He'd told them specifically that they had no right to ask him a question and expect an answer after all the torture they'd put Sam through. Apparently most of them didn't get the message.

"They're like mosquitoes, I swear!" he'd once told Tucker.

Occasionally one of the mosquitoes would leave its flock and try to probe Tucker. The geek refused to tell them anything, saying the exact same thing Danny had told them. Nobody wanted to be left out though and kept pestering them. They should've thought about that when Sam was still pregnant.

Thankfully today was Friday. The weekend was coming, which meant freedom from the swarm was near. At least for two days.

* * *

><p>Sam finally succeeded in rocking the twins to sleep. Junior sometimes woke up in his mother's arms. When he woke up, Lilith woke up. When they were both up, it was back to square one of the rocking process. But it could be done, even if it took a couple hours. Maddie sometimes laughed at that, remembering how needy Danny was as a baby. Apparently he would <em>not<em> go to sleep unless he was rocked.

And of course..._Danny_ Junior was needy and would only sleep if he was rocked. In Maddie's eyes, it was one of those weird traits passed from father to son. In Sam's eyes, it was a coincidence.

She gently laid them down in their crib and pulled a soft blanket over them. They looked harmless and innocent, but if Sam didn't tell Maddie about their origins now, they would tell her later. And later was closing in really fast. It was only a matter of time until someone commented on Lilith's hair. Sam would have to tell everyone now.

Before she went out the room to break the ice to Maddie, she took a glance a sticky note she'd just noticed; it was taped to the front of a notebook he must've left behind in his hurry this morning. The note had 'SF' written on it. Beside it was a tiny doodle of a heart. SF...? And a heart...? SF could be someone's initials. And a heart would normally symbolize love. It led her to conclusions. She chose to give him the benefit of the doubt and decided that before assuming the wrong thing, she would simply ask him about it when he got home. How he reacted to the note would answer her questions.

Sam walked out the door, taking one more look at that suspicious little note.

To her convenience, Maddie was downstairs, fiddling with some kind of new device. Maybe a ghost radar or something to blast a ghost back into the ghost zone. Whatever it was, she was very focused on it.

"Hi, Mrs. Fenton," Sam said, waving to her as she came downstairs. "Do you have a minute? I need to talk to you about something."

Maddie looked up from her little metal...whatever it was...and turned her attention to Sam. "Of course, what is it?"

"Well...it's about the twins," she answered, sitting down on the couch beside Maddie.

The woman looked at her, concern spreading across her face. She turned slightly to face Sam.

The teen took a deep breath. Her confidence was starting to waver. Suddenly Maddie looked intimidating. She wasn't as easy to talk to as Sam had imagined. But she had to get this over with. She kept telling herself that the pressure would be taken away once Maddie knew. She took another deep breath and looked away. This way, talking could be made a little more bearable.

"The twins aren't..." Her voice faltered. She was on the right track, but the words just wouldn't come out for some reason.

"The twins aren't what?" the woman asked.

They weren't Danny's. "They..." Again, she couldn't force the words out. Talking was a natural, normal, human thing; why the heck was it so hard to say one single sentence?

She gasped. "Sam, what's wrong with them?!"

"No, no! Nothing's wrong with them." Just a little more, she just had to let it ease into the whole blow-my-secret part and everything would be fine after that. "They're fine; they're in their crib sleeping."

"Well then, what about them? Do you need some advice? Because they can't eat peanuts..." Maddie trailed off when she saw Sam run a hand through her hair. She looked stressed out and uncomfortable. From the looks of it, this wasn't about the twins, but about Sam herself.

"Sorry, this is just a little hard to talk about," Sam said. She took several more breaths, not to the hyperventilation state, but enough to help calm her down. She was more nervous than she'd ever been before. "They're not really..." The rest just came out in a sigh. It seemed impossible. Maybe letting Danny do it was a better idea after all. But now Maddie was expecting something about the twins...and it was too late to go back on it now. Sam couldn't walk out on the conversation. She would just have to...

She took a few minutes to gather as much courage as she could and while it lasted, she quickly blurted out, "Danny's not the father!"

A wave of shock came over Maddie. Sam didn't look her in the eye. Couldn't look her in the eye. She could feel every emotion and every point of confusion the woman was emitting. But at least something was finally out of the way. At least layer one of the ice barrier had been broken. And layer one was the hardest. Now it would be easier to explain everything. But first, letting Maddie absorb what she'd just been told was probably for the better.

* * *

><p>"Oh no...oh no..." Danny whispered. "Where is it?!"<p>

"Where's what?" Tucker asked as he bit into his sandwich.

The halfa continued to frantically rummage through his backpack. "My notebook!"

Tucker swallowed. "You mean the one that had your sticky note on it?"

"Sam probably found i-"

"Dude! Relax. Sam won't even know what 'SF' means. You're still in a safe zone," he interrupted.

"You're right. Just...promise me you'll help me out if she finds that note. I can't have her knowing who she is."

"'She' might as well be your other girlfriend," Tucker said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, and something tells me Sam won't like that. She can't know who SF is yet, okay?" the halfa said.

Tucker smiled. "I found out pretty quick."

"Well you go to school with me every day. Plus, you're my best friend. It's alright if you know, but Sam...?" Danny sighed heavily. "She can't know, she could kill me for this!"

* * *

><p>Maddie was still so shocked that she couldn't piece her sentences. She could only fumble around, trying her level best to find something to say. But Sam knew what she was trying to say.<p>

"But...Danny has to be... I mean...if he's not... I-I don't understand, I-"

"Mrs. Fenton, calm down. I can explain-"

"Well you _should_ explain!" Maddie shouted, her temper beginning to flare. "Does Danny _know_ he's not the father? Having you been sleeping with my son _and_ other boys?!"

Sam put her hands up in defense. "No, I-"

"How could you do this to us?! Here I am, happy to be a grandmother and helping you out with these children, and now I find out you've been lying this whole time?! Have you just been using us all along?!" the woman continued.

Sam frowned, still refusing to look her in the eye. So this is how they would react... And until Maddie calmed down there was nothing she could say or do that would make this right.

"Who else have you been sleeping with, Sam?!"

Sam only shook her head. This was supposed to be easier but it was now ten times harder. And she didn't know who she'd slept with! She didn't know who the real father was! It was turning into a similar situation with her own parents. First came the yelling, then came the questions, then came the part where she got kicked out. And this time, she would have no place left to go. Except maybe Tucker's place, but the twins wouldn't like moving into a new environment. And honestly, Sam didn't want to move them somewhere else while they were so young. But she couldn't stay on the streets either. If Maddie threw her out, maybe Danny could convince her to let the twins stay. Maddie had explained to her a few days before the twins were born that a mother always wants the best for her children, even if it means sacrificing something precious. Sam would sacrifice anything for her kids.

She found herself unable to answer any of Maddie's questions.

**A/N**

**Whew! My brain went into full-time overload with this. Sorry for the wait, everyone. I'm hoping I didn't make either Maddie or Sam OOC-ish, so if I did, I'm sorry. I needed that kind of personality to fit the situation. And did anyone notice I left TWO cliffies in this chapter? I've never done that before (and if I have, then it was a complete accident).**

**Originally, Jazz was supposed to overhear Danny and Sam's conversation last night and interrupt it when Sam said, "...I for one think she would care..." and she would've walked in the room and said, "I don't care." and I'd have left it as a cliffie from there, but that idea changed for some reason and I thought up the concept of Jazz overhearing their conversation but waiting to confront Sam about it after Danny went off to school the next day. As you can clearly see, neither idea was used and I don't think I'll throw in a twist where there's another conversation about that exact same thing and Jazz happens to overhear it.**

**Alright, I guess you want me to get on with it already. But one more thing: I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH! Review quota will be one hundred (100) reviews. I'm pushing my luck with this but I want to see how far I can go. I only asked for...I think it was 81 reviews last time and I ended up getting 91! (THANK YOU!)  
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**Okay, so here are your review replies, in the order in which they were posted:  
><strong>

**_Inuyuke_- Hm. Number four seems to be very popular. :P You must've started a trend here.  
><strong>

**_puppets4ever_- I never really liked her parents either. And it's not wrong to hate fictional people. :D I hate lots of 'em.  
><strong>

**_Kitty in Boots_- Thanks! :) I hope I've gotten back on your good side.  
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**_BrittneyluvsChrist_- Oh, thank you. :) I'm glad you like it.  
><strong>

**_Sammi_- Thank you. :)  
><strong>

**_PlasticPencils_- It will! D: But I also have three other stories I'm working on. :/ But yeah, you've made it pretty clear that you like this one the best. Well she's got the pressure of telling Maddie face-to-face.  
><strong>

**_Hazel Blue Mystery_- Yeah, I spend alot of time trying to sort out ideas and pick the best one. Only, I got stuck on four ideas and needed you guys' help.  
><strong>

**_HandmadeVeggies_- Well, it might and it might not. Question is, will Sam back out on telling Maddie, will she not tell her at all, or will she let Danny tell her?  
><strong>

**_Animalistic Ballistic_- Don't be worried. :) Now that I've tallied all the votes, I can continue on with the story. Well, I actually counted your votes a little differently. One went to 2 and the other went to 4. So it's like you cast two separate votes.  
><strong>

**_BeamerProductions_- You're the second person to say that about his family. Thanks for voting, patriot. ;P  
><strong>

**_CrypticNiteMare_- You stole my name... -_- lol I know it's a hard decision, that why I asked for help. :P It's hard writing a complicated story like this. It's even harder when you manage to wedge yourself into a rock and a hard place when you reach a point where you can't choose just one idea on your own.  
><strong>

**_Favorite Daughter Of Hades_- I was thinking the same thing but then there were the others that came into mind and I just didn't know what to do at that point.  
><strong>

**_ChristinCC_- Thanks. :)  
><strong>

**_Skye ofthe Night_- Well, the story itself has been up for...I don't even know how long. But the update was pretty recent.  
><strong>

**_LittleBoomBoom_- Remember, I never said WHEN the idea would take place, I only said it would. ;)  
><strong>


	7. Chapter 7

~Chapter 7~

It was an entire hour before Sam could speak without Maddie blowing up at her again. Danny still wasn't home from school. Today she had two missions: ask Danny about that note, and tell his mother the truth. Right now she was _trying_ to tell his mother the truth. But the woman wasn't making it easy in the slightest for her and it was looking like it could be an impossible task. It literally was starting to seem like it just couldn't be done.

"Honestly, Sam, I thought you were better than this!" Maddie continued...on and on.

Every now and then there were a few short breaks between her blustering, and Sam would try to take that opportunity to tell her it wasn't what it sounded like. Why did she have to say Danny wasn't the father? Why didn't she add something to that sentence? Then maybe all this could've been prevented! And maybe Sam wouldn't have had to listen to her insults about how immoral this all was. Oh, it was immoral all right. But the immorality wasn't on her part.

A pause came and once more, Sam seized the chance to explain at least a tiny bit more.

"Please just listen to me! Danny's not the father but-" She was, not surprisingly, interrupted by another bout of anger from Maddie.

"But what, Sam?! Danny's not the father, I know that! But who is?! How many boys have you been sleeping with?! Do you even know?! Have you ever considered-"

"BE QUIET!" Sam screamed.

She'd had enough of this. It wasn't her fault that she'd gotten pregnant. At least that was what Danny and Tucker kept telling her when she got down about it. Though to be perfectly honest, she still believed that if she'd taken a different route home, her life would continue on as normal and Danny wouldn't be hated as much by her parents. He would still be hated, but not as much. Not to say that she didn't love the twins, but she was sick and tired of everybody assuming she was some slut who would sleep with just about anyone.

Shockingly, Jack hadn't heard her scream. Either he was sleeping, or he had gone out when she wasn't paying attention. Taking yet another deep breath, Sam proceeded to tell Maddie everything before that woman's temper reached its peak.

"Listen, I'm not the kind of girl you're making me out to be! You seem to think I'll go sleep with anyone but I won't and never will. _Ever._ If you would just let me speak for two seconds, I can tell you everything you want to know, and I promise you it'll answer all your questions. Okay?"

Maddie nodded..._silently_.

"Alright. First of all, Danny knows he's not the father. I didn't even ask him to pretend he was, he just declared it one day and everyone believed him. It's been that way ever since. I didn't technically 'sleep' with anyone. I got pounced by some man I didn't even know and...well, that's how I got pregnant. My parents thought Danny was the dad and kicked me out. He said I could live with you guys. As for the twins, he told me he wanted to help me take care of them. I never held Danny to his promise and he's free to go back on it anytime he wants," she explained. "Anything else you want to know?"

"So...the twins-"

"Were born out of rape, yes," Sam finished.

Maddie knelt down and pulled her into an embrace. There was no more tension in the air. It was like telling Maddie what happened had lifted this weird feeling from her that she didn't even know she harbored until now.

"I'm so sorry... Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Maddie sniffled.

"Because I didn't want anyone to know. That's why Danny's posing as the dad," she replied.

"Do your parents know this?"

Sam shook her head and the hug grew tighter. "No."

"Don't you want to tell them about what happened?"

Sam stayed quiet. She wasn't sure. What would happen if her parents knew? Her grandma would be fine, she'd understand perfectly. It was just...her mother and father could be a little insensitive sometimes. They seemed to be cut off from all her problems. This was a very big problem, but with Danny's help she'd managed to get through it. Now it was in the past. Sam saw the twins every day, but she never saw that man in them. Now the question was, did Maddie see that man in them? Now that she was free from the title of a slut, would the twins still be considered a part of the family?

* * *

><p>Oh man...she's gonna find out everything if she opens that notebook..." Danny groaned as he walked home.<p>

Tucker was right beside him. "Why did you put a sticky note on it anyway?"

"Motivation, I guess," he answered.

"Okay, and why did you leave it at home?"

"I don't know! I forgot about it. I must've missed it when I was running out the door... I'm such an idiot!"

"I kinda feel bad for you," Tucker laughed. "I mean, can you imagine what'll happen if Sam opens that notebook?"

"This isn't funny! She's going to _dump_ me if she sees that thing!" the halfa yelled.

* * *

><p>Now all Sam could do was wait for him to come home. The twins were fed, changed, and happily playing with Jack. Maddie's feelings toward the twins hadn't changed, as far as Sam could tell, and nobody else knew about the twins having been born to someone else. Maddie had understood this when Sam told her she didn't want anyone else to know right now. Now she was keeping the secret as well. Jazz was busy, Jack was oblivious...everything was going pretty smoothly for now. Jazz, though, would undoubtedly be the next person to know the truth. She was smart and chances were, she'd figure it out before Sam got the chance to tell her.<p>

Sam heard the front door open and knew it was Danny returning home from school. He wasn't going to sneak by her. Whoever 'SF' was, she would find out today. She would make him tell her. And he was _not_ going to leave his room until she got answers. Well...technically he could leave whenever he wanted to, being as he could simply turn intangible and phase through the door. Unlike her... But one thing was for sure, she wouldn't let up on him until he gave her answers.

She quickly grabbed the sticky note and held it tightly between two fingers as she heard him come up the stairs. His feet stopped right before he opened the door. He was being cautious, she realized. Which meant he knew the sticky note was in the room, and that meant he'd wanted to hide it from her. So something was up. 'SF' had to be initials; what else would it be, the name of a dog?! And the heart beside it indicated that it was a girl. And they definitely weren't _her_ initials. But...maybe Danny was holding the note for someone...? Oh, who was she kidding! No one 'holds' that kind of note for someone. Plus, it looked like Danny's handwriting.

The door opened, but she didn't rush up to him and begin asking questions right away. He _was_ being cautious.

"Uh...hey, Sam. You didn't happen to find a notebook with a sticky note attached to it, did you?" he asked.

She held up the said sticky note. "You mean this sticky note?"

He grinned. "Yeah, that's the one. W-Where's the notebook?"

Her eyes narrowed. "I could care less about that stupid notebook!" She shoved the sticky note in his face. "What does 'SF' stand for?!"

His grin dropped and he remained silent. She didn't know whether he was trying to find the right words or if he was making up an excuse. But the silence was almost overbearing. She could hardly take it! And after having told Maddie all about the twins, she wasn't in the best mood right now. But mission number one was complete. Commence mission number two. _Complete_ mission number two.

"I-It...doesn't...really stand for anything," he said, laughing nervously.

"So you're telling me you decided to write down two random letters and draw a little heart beside them?" she hissed. "Are these initials, Danny?"

"What?"

"Is there another girl?"

"What?"

"Are these that girl's initials?"

"What?"

"ANSWER ME!"

He flinched. "I-I...can't..."

"Why can't you tell me? Whose initials are these?"

"I can't tell you!" he said.

"Why?"

"Just...because."

"Danny," she growled. "If you don't tell me in the next five seconds..." She let her voice trail off as a warning.

She didn't exactly know what she would do if he didn't tell her, but she was counting on her bluff to do the job. If he really loved her, he would tell her what was going on. Even if he had another girlfriend, she had a right to know! And if there was another girl involved, then what would become of Sam? Would she be replaced? His five seconds were now up. He hadn't said a single thing. Her bluff failed. Now she knew there was another girl. And what a way to start off a weekend. She'd hoped to have a little alone time with her boyfriend. But as of now, she no longer had a boyfriend. Only an ex.

She dropped the sticky note, watching it as it lazily fluttered to the ground. Danny still wasn't saying anything. He wasn't even doing anything. He just stood there, waiting to see what would happen. He was probably wondering what she would do now that five seconds had passed without a single word on his part. Well...she still didn't know what she was going to do, but she knew she couldn't stand to be around him right now.

She pushed past him and didn't look back as she headed outside. It was starting to sprinkle a little bit. Amazing how the weather always seemed to match the mood she was in. She didn't stop and continued walking, not really knowing or caring which way she was going. She knew the town inside and out thanks to all those ghost hunting missions. She would be able to find her way back no matter where she ended up.

The sprinkling soon turned to rain, which, after a few minutes, became a downpour. It was freezing and it ate away at her skin. In a way, it was refreshing. It woke her up, made everything clear and vivid. The lightning was a welcoming sight, the thunder a welcoming sound.

"Sam, wait!" Danny called out to her.

She accelerated into a run, not very eager to see him anytime soon. She would have to go back eventually, but now wasn't a good time. Danny was in trouble, he knew it, and that was why he was running after her.

"Sam!" his voice came again.

She looked up and sure enough, there he was as Danny Phantom. He'd caught up to her using his stupid ghost speed. He also seemed to be holding something. Well, two things actually. One of them he had turned intangible. The other was getting drenched.

"I-It's not what you think!" he shouted over the winds.

She stopped, knowing she couldn't escape him now. He landed beside her, panting, and motioned for her to follow him. He took her under a restaurant canopy and sat against the wall. One of the things he held was an umbrella. The other, no longer intangible, looked like a book. ...A notebook, she realized. It must've been the one he'd been asking about earlier. The sticky note had been re-attached to it. He patted the ground, beckoning her to sit beside him. Reluctantly, she sat. But only because she knew he wouldn't give up.

He took a few minutes to catch his breath before he started talking.

"Sam," he said, looking at her with intense and serious eyes, "take a look at this notebook." He gently held it out for her to take. "But before you do...I'm sorry."

She took it from him and he immediately turned invisible. She could still hear his breathing. He didn't run away. Not yet at least. She took a deep breath and opened it.

**A/N**

**Well, I was going to make her slap him at least once, but I wanted to try to cram all this into a single chapter and there wasn't room for a slap scene. And no, I was never going to make Danny come in and "save" Sam from his mother. He was at school when this happened, so it was kind of a no-go.  
><strong>

**I hope you're happy with the fast update! :D Haven't done one of those in a while, huh?**

**New review quota will be a hundred and nine (109) reviews.**

**And now your review replies:**

**_BeamerProductions_- Well, I believe I remember saying there would be some drama and tension and stuff like that in this story, did I not? You never know. I'm a twister writer, I'll throw in twists when you least expect them. ;)**

**_JaymieLynn2000_- Thank you. :)**

**_Sammi_- I only do it because I need motivation to write things. I don't want to lose interest again and move onto something else. :( I did that with two Gravity Falls stories and this one seemed to be lost. That is, until I remembered how many people liked reading this and were willing to review it. I started back up on this thing and I won't stop 'til it's done.**

**_smallvillephantom14_- Well, you never can tell with me. For all you know, he's crushing on another girl and is too afraid to tell Sam.**

**_BrittneyluvsChrist_- Thank you. :)**

**_Inuyuke_- XD Wow, I think these cliffies are going to drive you up the wall soon. Part of me feels bad for leaving them. Maddie didn't know it wasn't Sam's fault, remember?**

**_Hazel Blue Mystery_- You have every right to be worried. I'm not telling what means what yet.**

**_Animalistic Ballistic_- You'll find out in the next chapter...or will you? ;)**

**_HandmadeVeggies_- You would kill Danny? lol I would too. But yeah, he might be cheating on Sam or he might not be. **

**_PlasticPencils_- Holy cow! XD I was planning to put a scene in this chapter where Danny's freaking out and he's ranting to Tucker, and then Tucker says something to calm him down he screams, "I'M A DEAD MAN!"**

**_DXSGirl123_- Oh, wow, thank you. :D I'm happy to have such a big fan. lol Eventually people will realize not to jump to conclusions with me. XD Most of the time it puts the wrong idea in their head and they get mad at me later on. It seems like you know this though. I assume it's from reading FWB?**

**Thank you all for reading, and a big thanks to those who have taken the time to review!**


	8. Chapter 8

~Chapter 8~

Inside Danny's notebook was nothing but a bunch of drawings. But...upon closer inspection, each drawing depicted a scene. Danny wasn't very good at art; his people were stick figures with four fingers each.

The first drawing she laid eyes on was a doodle page. It had 'SF' written all over it, with little hearts scattered here and there, finished with a smiley face on the bottom right corner of the page.

The next page was much different. There was some kind of triangular figure with a head standing beside a stick figure who had on a poorly-drawn tuxedo. The triangular figure was holding what looked like a big cotton ball. Both of them were smiling. In front of them was another person holding a book. He looked like he was talking. All three people were standing on what seemed to be a stage with a rug on it.

"What's this?" she asked.

He stopped breathing for a second. "T-That's... That's you."

"Me? Who are the two people beside me? And why am I a triangle?"

"You're not a triangle," he said. "That's your dress."

She pointed to the person with the book. "And this guy?"

"A priest."

Then she pointed to the person in the tuxedo. "And this guy?"

For a minute, only the rain could be heard. But finally, she heard a rugged sigh followed by, "That would be me..."

"So is Tucker the priest? Are we doing a play, is that why we're all standing on a stage?"

"It's not a stage. It's...it's an altar," he mumbled.

"Wait, what? An altar?"

He chuckled nervously. "You know, i-it's stupid. Let's just go back home and forget we ever saw this drawing."

"No, tell me what this is," she said, clutching the book tightly in case he tried to take it away.

She heard shuffling and a short whine. "It's supposed to be our wedding."

She looked down at the picture again. Now it kind of made sense. And if this was a wedding, then that meant... She turned back to the previous page. All those initials weren't another girl's, they were _hers_. SF. Samantha Fenton. She couldn't help but blush hotly at the thought of her last name being his. She turned the page.

This page just held two large circles that looked like fruit loops. One of the circles had an upside down triangle on top. A star had been drawn over the left corner of the triangle. "And what the heck are these things?"

Another short whine. "They're rings. The one on the left is mine, and the one with the diamond is yours."

She assumed the 'diamond' was the triangle. These were probably the wedding rings. She turned the page.

This picture had a large box with a triangle on top. In the box were four people, two big, two little. The two big ones were in the center and the two little ones were on the outside. Everyone was holding hands and wearing big smiles. She didn't need Danny to tell her who these people were. The twins were older in this drawing and they were holding their parents' hand. The big people were Danny and Sam and they held each other's hand. He had drawn his one big happy family...

She turned the page again. Danny finally materialized beside her and cautiously leaned over. He smiled.

On this page, he'd drawn two big people. Apparently the twins weren't in this one. The first person had the biggest smile ever seen by human eyes. The second person was holding an oval with a face on it. The first person was looking at the oval. The second person was looking at the first person.

"That's us," Danny said. He pointed to the first person. "That's me." He pointed to the second person. "That's you." He pointed to the oval. "And that's a baby."

"A what?" she asked, hardly believing what he'd just said.

He seemed to be too lost in his own thoughts to hear her and continued explaining. "I'm smiling because I can't believe I'm a dad again, and you're smiling because I passed out in the hospital room after it was born."

He turned the page for her. This picture had a bed with one person sitting up on it and smiling with an open mouth and closed eyes. Another person was laying on the floor at the end of the bed. The person on the bed was pointing at the person on the floor.

"That's me on the floor, and you're in the bed laughing at me," he said.

He turned the page again. This time there was a chair with handles on the top of it, wheels underneath it, and a very tiny person sitting in it. A big person was holding the handles. They were following a sidewalk. Two puffy clouds hung in the sky.

"There's me and the baby going for a walk in the park. But the baby's too small so I'm pushing it in a stroller."

He turned the page again. This time there was a spiky tree with a star on top and tiny orbs in it. A circle was under the tree and a few boxes that varied in size were around it. There were three little stick figures hopping up and down, one of them holding a toy train in its hand and another holding a curved line. Two larger stick figures sat in chairs, one on either side of the tree.

"That's what a Christmas will be like for us. Lilith is holding a jump rope and Junior's holding a little toy train. I didn't know what to draw for the baby."

He turned the page. This was very similar to the picture before, except there were no presents and there were fewer orbs on the tree. Everyone in this picture was gathered around the tree and each held one ornament.

"That's us decorating the tree. We're about to leave milk and cookies for Santa."

He turned the page. This time there was one little person and one big person. The big person was handing the little person some kind of tiny square on a fork larger than the big person's entire arm. The little person had both hands up and was leaning back a bit.

"That's you trying to get Lilith to eat tofu, but she doesn't like it so she's about to push it away."

He turned the page again. There were two little people. They had one arm up in the air and bulges on their backs.

"That's Lilith and Junior waving goodbye to us. It's their first day of school."

He turned the page. There was a table. In the center of it was a circle with an oval attached to the end of it. A few smaller semicircles were drawn on the table. Five stick figures were sitting around the table with forks, again freakishly large, in their hands.

"That's what Thanksgiving will be like."

He turned the page. It looked like everyone was in a store. A big person was pushing a buggy and another big person was following the first person. Three little people were bringing up the rear. There were little blobs with lines coming out of them in boxes on the sides of the drawing.

"That's us at the pet store. We're letting the kids pick out a pet."

He turned the page. There was one big box with a window on it. There was a person wearing a triangular hat behind the window. Two big people and three little people were each holding upside down triangles with a circle on top. There was a sun and a cloud in the sky, both on separate corners of the page.

"That's us getting ice cream, except you got that tofu stuff."

He turned the page. There was a car and three big people. One of the stick people was standing beside the car and another was walking towards it. The third person was off to the side and had their hand up.

"That's Lilith when she's older and there's her boyfriend, and I'm over on the sideline shaking my fist at him."

He turned the page.

"And there I am prop..." He didn't continue.

He cleared his throat and attempted to rip the page out. Sam held the book firmly and moved it away from him. While she had the chance, she quickly scanned the picture the he obviously didn't want her to see. He had drawn two big people. One of them was standing beside a fountain. The other was kneeling on one knee and holding up a tiny box. An open box. Inside it was a semicircle with an upside down triangle on top. There was a little star drawn over the top left corner of the triangle.

He snatched the notebook, closed it, and stood up, looking away from her.

"Danny...?" she said.

He looked up at her but just as quickly averted his eyes.

"Do you really want a family this bad?" she asked.

He kicked at the ground. "...Yeah."

"Why didn't you just tell me?"

"I thought you'd freak out."

"Well," she said, "it's a little creepy to know you were thinking about another kid when we already have two. But other than that, it's fine."

"You're not upset?" He sat back down, this time looking her in the eye.

"No. I think it's cute. I didn't know you were looking forward to this so much," she replied. "I didn't know how much this meant to you."

He smiled. "It means alot."

She chuckled and said, "I'll say."

Danny wrapped an arm around Sam's waist and pulled her closer. Turns out, Sam never had an ex. Only a boyfriend. A boyfriend that happened to be a superhero. And, unfortunately, a boyfriend who had so many fangirls it was unbelievable. As Fenton, though, he was a nobody and went unnoticed by anyone except her and Tucker. And in his eyes, that was all he needed. He wanted to have a family with Sam, and he wanted to stay with her until the day one of them died. He loved her just that much. He always would.

**A/N**

**Okay, I don't know about you guys, but I was smiling the whole time I was writing this chapter! I thought it was just the cutest little thing! :D And just wait until you see what's coming next. This time it's Danny's turn to wonder about Sam...**

**Oh, and for those of you who don't know, a shopping cart is called a buggy where I live.**

**I honestly can't believe how many reviews I got! I'd hug you if you weren't over the internet! :P**

**I guess the new quota will be a hundred twenty-one (121) reviews.**

**And here are your review replies:**

**_LittleBoomBoom_- XD Yeah, I love leaving cliffies. I was going to explain everything in the last chapter but then I thought, "It'll be hilarious to tease 'em!"**

**_DXSGirl123_- Now you found out, lol! I kinda hated that everyone figured it out so quickly. :/ Even if they thought they were wrong...**

**_ChristinCC_- I thought I was being clever, saying 'SF' instead of giving it away. Not my best idea.**

**_PlasticPencils_- MUAHAHA! How dare you doubt Danny like that!**

**_Animalistic Ballistic_- Heh heh heh... I updated as fast as I could. :) So fast my story wasn't wiped off the front page of the DP archive!**

**_Sammi_- -.- You just HAD to figure it out, didn't you?**

**_Inuyuke_- o.o Oh boy. I think I should run now... The notebook plays a significant role in the story. :3 And you were one of the two people to realize this.**

**_BrittneyluvsChrist_- Everyone hates me and my cliffies. :) Wow, thanks!**

**_TheNinjaKitty13_- Thank you. :)**

**_Harmony's Entropy_- lol Thanks. :) I have no idea what you mean by 'style of writing' though.**

**_smallvillephantom_- Oh I know, gotta love those cliffies. :P **

**_Hazel Blue Mystery_- Woah there! Hold your horses! SF really DOES stand for Sam Fenton. Danny was just too embarrassed to tell her.**

**_HandmadeVeggies_- lol I was seriously considering it until I realized I had to choose between three ideas, and I went with Danny simply giving her the notebook.**


	9. Chapter 9

~Chapter 9~

She was doing it again. Why did she always write in her diary without giving him at least a _hint_ as to what she writing about? Or at least thinking about? It was perfectly normal for her to write in it, but recently she'd been wearing her pencils out. It was writing, not drawing. That much he knew. It was at times like this that respecting Sam's privacy became hard to do. He loved her...but...seriously...? And each time he would ask, she'd just shrug and smile. The ol' shrug-n-smile. And he hated it. Alot.

He was starting to get a little worried though... She'd only started this up a few weeks after she'd discovered the secrets of his notebook, the one that contained all his hopes for a future family with her. It was mortifying at the time, and he'd even gone invisible because his face was so red it would put a tomato to shame. It was a good thing Sam didn't mind too much. He really should've thought twice about putting in the extra baby though. In retrospect, it probably wasn't the best idea to want another child when two twins weren't old enough to talk yet. Well, aside from Lilith, but she had always been advanced for a baby. She'd started walking at seven and a half months, was now climbing on everything she saw, and mimicked a few words here and there. Junior had taken his first step two weeks ago. Unfortunately, Danny was at school when it happened and Junior refused to walk after his daddy got home. Stubborn little fella. Just like himself, he mused.

"Doddy," Lilith said, looking up at him as she grasped his pants leg.

He smiled warmly and picked her up. "Yeah, sweetie?"

She never, _ever_ called him 'daddy'. Nobody knew why, but it was always 'doddy'. He supposed the one thing these twins had in common was a stubbornness issue. Junior didn't often walk in front him, and Lilith called him 'doddy' no matter how many times he and Sam corrected her. But sure enough, Junior would walk for his mama. And sure enough, Lilith called Sam 'mama'. He knew it would soon move on to 'mommy', but until then it was just 'mama' and 'doddy'.

"Doddy," she repeated. "Doddy."

"What is it, huh?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

She nodded her head and looked the other way. "Dump. Dump!"

She meant to say 'jump'. While she could talk, she was still a baby and couldn't pronounce her words very well. Her version of jumping was just him bouncing her in his arms a little. When she was older, the new trend would be piggyback rides. And a little older than that, horsey rides. And maybe just a tad older, those special rides that wore out the parents...the foot rides. There would come a time when the twins would sit on his feet while he walked, with their legs wrapped around his ankles and their heads leaning back while they laughed. He could easily imagine them commanding him to 'go higher'. He would be stomping around the house wearing children for shoes.

He jiggled up and down for a little bit, stopping every few seconds to see if Lilith was getting tired of it yet. She tended to change her mind about what she wanted _alot_. Just like her mother...

Junior crawled up to him and yanked on his pants leg. He couldn't speak, but most of the time he wanted to be with his sister. It was very cute, the way they acted around each other. Lilith was extremely independent for a baby, but she loved the company of her brother. Junior would scream and cry if he was separated from his sister. When Junior got upset, so did Lilith. She would immediately come looking for him. If Danny was lucky, sibling rivalry would be kept to a bare minimum.

Lilith smiled and even went so far as to giggle. He bent down to pick up her brother and continued bouncing them. Junior didn't really like to be bounced, but he didn't hate it either. He just wanted to be by his sister. They did almost everything together. They got a bath together, they ate together, and when one of them got changed, the other had to be in the room. They were literally like two halves of a whole, always gravitating towards one another.

Sam came in from the lab to wash her hands, smiling at Danny as she passed him. She always had this...weird smile... She only revealed it when she looked at him though. Why? What did that smile mean? There was no way he could be in trouble, he didn't do anything wrong! Maybe she was trying to relay a secret message to him. But God forbid he should know girl code. He sighed. Sam was acting so weird lately, and he had a feeling this all had to do with his notebook. Stupid notebook...he should've never let her see it. But then she'd have convinced herself that he was cheating on her, and that had to be far worse than any notebook.

Lilith, deciding she wanted down now, leaned over. It nearly gave Danny a heart attack and on impulse, he leaned backward to keep her up. Junior was using his other arm, and he was trying to hold Lilith with the arm wrapped around her.

"Uh...Sam, little help!" he called out.

Chuckling, she came up to him and took Lilith. Junior suddenly got restless and began to struggle in his father's arms. Danny set him down and he crawled up to Sam, eyes locked into his sister. Sam set Lilith down and the two just sat there, as if speaking in a silent baby language.

He mulled that over for a second. Like Sam... Maybe if he just stared at her for awhile...? No, then he would just look stupid. Sam was his girlfriend, he didn't really want to look stupid in front of her...even though he already had. Many times, in fact. He sighed. And so he _continued_ to live up to his nickname of Clueless 1.

Sam walked up to him and gently pecked him on the cheek before walking away to wherever. She did that sometimes...came up to him, kissed him real quick, and left. It always had the same effect on him...he was always left stunned. Not to say that he didn't appreciate the affection, but in a relationship, didn't the guy really only get kisses when he did something the girl liked? Had he done something like that? Something good, something that Sam liked? Maybe it was just him being there with her. It would make sense. He left early in the morning, stayed away from home all day, came back only to do homework and eat dinner, and was pretty tired when he went to sleep. The only days that cycle was broken were Saturdays and Sundays.

Wait, wait...back up, reverse for a second. He was tired when he went to sleep, and Sam would refuse to sleep unless he slept with her. But there were actually two requirements to getting Sam to sleep. First, Danny had to be in bed; that was the given. Secondly, though, his arms had to wrapped around her. And if he fell asleep without his arms around, her he would wake up with them around her, which meant either he did it or she did it for him. And lately, only a minute or two after he put his arms around her, she backed into him. At first glance, it looked like she was trying to push him off the bed, but that wasn't it at all. No, she was pushing her back against him, getting closer to him. He knew it meant something, but he couldn't figure out what.

"Girl code..." he muttered to himself.

He watched Lilith get up and start spinning around. Junior smiled, but didn't get up or do anything beyond watch his sister. Well...maybe when Lilith was older, she could shed some light on the secret language of girls...

"That by the way, guys can't figure out!" Danny yelled to Sam, wherever she was right now.

"Huh?" he heard her call back from downstairs.

"Listen, I need to get a shower! Could you watch the twins? They're up here!" he yelled down to her.

Lilith giggled and started saying something in baby language. Great, two languages he couldn't understand. As if just one wasn't enough. Was life this hard for fathers who were married, out of the house, and working at jobs rather than on schoolwork? He didn't mind being a father, he actually loved it. But it was hard. And to be honest, it was tiring. It was worth it though. He never knew he could love a person, or two people to be precise, this much. Then they were born and everything changed. He saw them for the first time and he'd never seen anything so beautiful, so perfect... Using the term 'magical' would sound like something straight from a fairytale, but it was true. There was no other way to describe it.

The sound of Sam entering the room broke his train of thought.

"Alright, I got the twins," she said, carefully stepping over Junior and moving Lilith from the bathroom doorway. Junior immediately got up and crawled after his mother and sister. After having positioned Lilith on her waist, she picked him up and took them both downstairs, where Maddie was probably waiting to play with them or feed them. Maddie said they were okay to have crayons, but Sam refused to let them have any. She didn't want them trying to eat the crayons, and she didn't want them to draw on the walls, floors, or furniture.

Danny hopped in the shower once everyone was gone. He made sure to keep a careful eye out for ghosts. They always attacked at the weirdest times...like when he was getting a shower. A few times, he'd been out on a date with Sam and what do you know, pop goes the ghost! They seemed to spring up out of nowhere. Almost like they were just _trying_ to get under his skin. And frankly they were doing a good job. He'd fought off so many ghosts it was unbelievable! And worse, half of the time, he had to hide it from Sam. He was a dad, he had two kids and a girlfriend as well as a mother, father, and sister. It was his job to protect them all and making them worry wasn't a good idea...especially since the kids were only a year old.

And Sam...Sam would worry so much about his safety, perhaps even more so now that the twins were here. Maybe her worry would stem from something else though.

The water pattered against the shower floor. He leaned against the wall, letting the water hit him only to roll off his body and onto the floor, where it would join the other water droplets and travel together down the drain. Sam had done a ton of crazy and messed up stuff before the twins were born. He'd blamed himself all this time for all of it, even the things that "weren't his fault". This coming from the girl who was so utterly consumed by depression and rage that she'd sought a way to take it out on herself. And she had found one, unfortunately. Why did she do it though? She knew it was wrong. No matter how she felt, she still had a conscience that told her to stop. But she did it anyways. Why? It was the one question he could never stop asking himself. And it was the one question he could never seem to _remotely_ answer. The guilt was still there. But at least Sam was better.

**A/N**

**This is a bad place to leave off at, but it's all I got for now. Hm...what's up with Sam, I wonder...? :P Heh. More like you wonder.**

**Okay, well...THANK YOU! Just WOW! You guys are seriously awesome, I mean, going over the review quota AGAIN?! *whispers* You...guys...rock... No review quota this time! :) As a thank-you.**

**And now...a-hem, for your replies:**

**BrittneyluvsChrist- :D I LOVED writing that chapter! Danny and his creepy notebook in all its FLUFFINESS!**

**ShadowDragon357- I love that chapter, I am SOOOO proud of it! I've never done anything that fluffy before!**

**DXSGirl123- I thought it was adorable too. :D So fwuffeee!**

**Sammi- Thank you. :) Fwuff.**

**smallvillephantom14- XD Yeah, I thought I'd add a little humor to make a fluffy chapter even more fluffy. So Danny is obviously failing art class. :) He was embarrassed.**

**Harmony's Entropy- lol I...still don't really know what that means. But thank you! :)**

**Inuyuke- O.O Oh dear... PLEASE DON'T S'PLODE JUST YET! Not til the story ends anyway. :P lol Yeah...wonder what's up with Sam, huh?**

**TheNinjaKitty13- The notebook is completely creepy, but you have to admit, this story kind of had the feel of him wanting a family. And I do believe that in FWB I said he wanted to be there and help raise the twins with Sam. ;)**

**PlasticPencils- lol! It's creepily fluffy.**

**Lucifers . Angel . 93- Thanks. :) Wow...I over-fluffed the chapter... :P lol, Sorry about that.**

**ChristinCC- Thanks. :D I wuv Danny and his fwuffyness.**

**Codiak- XD Just the way you said that...!**


	10. Chapter 10

~Chapter 10~

Danny drew a sharp breath as he felt the peroxide dripping into his freshly-made wound. It was a deep cut, one that would heal without stitches but needed treatment nonetheless.

"Okay, just keep still and try not to tense up," Sam instructed.

He took another breath and braced himself. The cotton ball had never felt so evil before... It ran smoothly but painfully across the edges of the cut, spreading the peroxide even deeper into it. He stifled a yelp, but accidentally replaced it with a low whine.

He hung his head and let Sam work on his back. Normally he wouldn't have let her see him without a shirt on, but after the fight with Skulker, the cut was too painful and staved off any embarrassment from being shirtless. For now, the only thing he could do was put his hands against the wall, hang his head, and stand still while Sam tried to patch him up. _It_ _hurt!_

He felt the cotton ball's fibers catch little pieces of clotting blood and pull them off. The cleaning of the wound hurt worse than actually _getting_ the wound. What was so wrong with letting the darn thing heal naturally, without the aid of burning peroxide and sharp cotton balls?_  
><em>

"Danny, don't tense up," Sam repeated, this time in a more demanding tone.

"Sorry, it hurts!" he moaned.

"Oh please, you fight ghosts all the time, you can deal with a little piece of cotton," she said.

He sighed heavily. He wasn't going to win this one. He never seemed to win arguments against Sam. It was impossible, she always wrapped it around in such a way that he couldn't think of a comeback. Hopefully Lilith wouldn't be a mini-Sam. He didn't know what he would do if his daughter turned out to be another Sam. Not that there was anything wrong with Sam, but...oh wow. What if Lilith started acting as weird as her mother?! She was just a baby right now, but what if she started giving him strange smiles and walking past him like Sam kept doing?

He banged his fist against the wall when more peroxide was poured onto the cut.

"It's not fun for me either. You're oozing a cocktail of blood and ectoplasm. It's kinda gross," she said.

"I was hit mid-morph, it's not my fault," he retorted.

"I'm not saying it is."

He felt a wet cloth being rubbed around the cut. The dampness was soothing, but the cloth itself was attacking his skin. It was bittersweet.

"I wouldn't put a shirt on after this," she told him as she put on a large square band-aid. She pressed on it a little to make sure it would hold firm. "It might rip this thing off."

She smoothed out the edges and stood back. "Okay, all done."

He sighed in relief and stood up straight. The burning sensation had faded fast, and the evil cotton ball was gone. But still being shirtless? What was he supposed to do, walk around with no shirt in front of his parents, his sister, Sam, and the twins? It was embarrassing! Plus, his parents would wonder what the big band-aid was for. What was he supposed to tell them? He would have to stay in his room until it was okay to put his shirt back on. If Jazz came in, it would still be embarrassing, but not as bad since she already knew he was half ghost and since she was his sister. But Sam...it was probably even more embarrassing. She was his girlfriend, and here he was _shirtless_ in front of her.

"Danny, what's wrong?" she asked sweetly.

He shrugged and sat on his bed. "Nothing."

He heard a disbelieving grunt. She was a mother. And if there was one thing he'd learned from life, it was that mothers _just knew_. They seemed to have this weird power, almost like telepathy. He sighed. A telepathic girlfriend.

A hand tugged on his shoulder and pulled him around. A small black-haired girl smiled at him. There it was again...there was the smile... He loved it when she smiled but this was _freaking him out_. What did he do to deserve this kind of torture? She wrote in her diary for hours, wouldn't tell him what was going on, and worse, she kept looking at him all sweet and loving, gave him a quick kiss, and plum walked away! He swore, he _swore_ this was punishment for something. It had to be! Why would she do something this cruel?!

She wrapped both arms around his neck and kissed him. He expected it to be a very rapid, short-lived kiss, but it was lingering and lasted for at least a full thirty seconds. He smiled and almost started to tear up. Was it finally over...? Did she just forgive him as of now? He felt himself melt. Please oh _please_ don't let this be a trick. He really hoped he wasn't dreaming right now. But if he was, it was one heck of a dream.

* * *

><p>"Wait, what?" Tucker asked in confusion.<p>

Danny opened his locker and sorted out his books as his friend leaned against the locker beside him. "Sam. She keeps looking at me all weird."

Tucker perked an eyebrow. "It's Sam. Everything she does is weird."

The halfa's books slid out of his locker and landed loudly on the floor. He began picking them up and said, "Not this weird. She'll kiss me and walk right by me, like nothing even happened."

Tucker smiled one of those sly, 'I-know-what's-going-on-now' smiles. "Go on."

Danny sighed. "When she was fixing me up after a fight with Skulker, she up and kissed me. But a real kiss, not one of those little somethings she's been giving me."

"Where'd you get hurt at?"

Danny pointed to the spot that was still bandaged up. "Right in between my back and shoulder blade."

"Oh...so...you had to take off your shirt," he replied suggestively, as if implying something that the halfa was unable to decipher.

"Well, yeah. It was the only way she could reach the cut."

A chuckle. "And Sam had her hands on you."

"Uh, yeah. That's kinda how it works when you drown something in peroxide and attack it with a cotton ball." Danny flinched at the thought of having to go through that again.

"And you wonder why your nickname is Clueless 1..." Tucker muttered. "Listen, Danny, do you have even the slightest _hint_ as to what's going on here?"

"If I did, I wouldn't be asking you about this," he replied.

"Dude, it's not that hard. The smiles, the little kisses... She's flirting with you, she's trying to tell you something. Then you're shirtless in front of her, she's got her hands all over you... Are you starting to get it now?"

Danny shook his head. He had stopped picking up his books to look intently at his friend. "No clue."

"Okay, let me break it down baby step by baby step. That's a step for each of your twins. Ghost fighting is exercise. Exercise does what?"

Danny looked up toward the ceiling. "Makes you stronger?"

"Yes. And when you get stronger, what happens to your muscles?"

"They get bigger."

"And which gender notices how big a guys muscles are?"

"Girls."

"And Sam is a girl, _so..._"

He gasped. "So...Sam thinks I'm tough?"

"Uh...yeah, but when she looks at your muscles..." Tucker motioned for his friend to finish the sentence.

"She..." His voice trailed off as he thought for the right words. "...notices them?"

The techno-geek might as well have hit his face against a brick wall. "Sam saw you shirtless. She _likes_ that. Your girlfriend thinks you're hot."

"Wait a minute, me? I'm hot? Sam thinks I'm hot?" he stuttered. "But why won't she-"

"Ah-ah-ah!" Tucker shook his finger. "I don't speak girl, but if Sam is really doing what you say she's doing, she might even think you're sexy."

And cue the ripe tomato. Either Tucker was really really crazy, or he was really really right. "M-Me? Are you sure?"

Tucker nodded his head. "A hundred percent, dude. A hundred percent."

Danny didn't know if being sexy was a good thing or a bad thing. She wasn't punishing him, she was becoming more attracted to him. He must not have realized how much muscle mass he'd gained from fighting, catching, and chasing ghosts all the time. And Tucker was right, girls were the first to notice the slightest change in physical appearance. And since he was around her all the time... Oh man...and he'd taken his shirt off right in front of her, too! What the heck was wrong with him?! How did he not see this coming?! All this time he thought...augh! It was so obvious! And it took _Tucker_ to explain all this to him, and that was just sad.

Well...what was he supposed to do now? It was great to know Sam thought he was so attractive. And come to think of it, the other girls in school had been less harsh on him than usual...which confirmed it. But after everything Sam had gone through, he wasn't sure if being attractive was a good thing. It wasn't like he'd intentionally been trying to whip his body into shape. He hadn't been trying to impress anyone with larger muscles. But apparently it just happened and one way or another, it paid off. Whether it was for better or worse, he didn't know.

Paulina walked past him, sparing him a suggestive glance. She waved at him and said, "Hey, Danny!" She didn't call him a loser for once _and_ she was talking to him. Two years ago he would've leapt ten feet in the air with joy, thinking about how absolutely lucky he was to have finally caught the attention of his biggest crush. But now...he saw how right Sam had been about her. She really was shallow if all she saw in a boy was his body. Sam didn't look at that, not before now at least. Sam liked him even when he was a loser, even when he looked like a string bean. He didn't want Paulina anymore. There was only one girl he would ever look at and that was Sam. No other girl seemed to be worth his time anymore.

"Have girls been flirting with me this whole time?" he asked, having finally picked up the last of his books.

"Yeah, pretty much. You were just too oblivious to notice," Tucker answered.

The halfa shoved his books back into his locker only to realize he still needed one of those textbooks. "That's probably because I already have a girlfriend."

"Yeah, and you let her see all that embarrassing stuff in your notebook," Tucker teased.

He pulled out the needed textbook and closed his locker. "She said she was fine with it. Besides, I was thinking of asking her to marry me when we got older."

The two friends began walking to Tucker's locker, where he had yet to gather his own things. "Why not now?"

"Wait, what? That's stupid!"

Tucker cracked a smile. "Not really. Think about it. You guys live together and have two kids. You even sleep in the same room. All you're missing is a ring, Danny."

He was right. Their life was set up almost exactly like a married couple's life. Living together, sleeping together, raising kids together. The only thing left out was the ceremony. They were pretty young, but ever since the twins had come into the picture, they had matured so much. Now they were thinking and acting like adults...in most ways. Apparently Sam's girl hormones were kicking in. Not that he didn't like her looks, but he'd always been so modest about his that it seemed almost unbelievable. It felt more like someone was playing an embarrassing prank on him than the truth.

And...what was he supposed to do with Sam? He'd never had a girl like his body before. And he was sick and tired of those tiny little bird-pecks she kept giving him. She didn't need to be flirtatious with him, he was already her boyfriend. And hopefully, his future wife.

**A/N**

**So does anyone get what's actually happening with Sam now? And will Danny ask her to marry him now or wait? :3 Meh heh heh. An indirect cliffie. Nice, right?**

**I really hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'll try to update again by Christmas since the next chapter will be a special one. ;) But remember, I throw in twists, so if you're _so_ sure Danny's gonna ask Sam to marry him in the next chapter...you may want to rethink that.**

**Okay, so, there will be a review quota this time and that number will be (pulled outta nowhere here) one hundred and forty-seven (147) reviews.**

**And to speed things up so I can get this thing updated (I hate waiting, don't you?), I gladly present your review replies:**

**_Inuyuke_- lol You might be right. :) And sorry. I knew it was wrong, but I noticed that I'd been doing that since the beginning of FWB and I thought it might be weird to suddenly change it. But it'll probably be for the best. Thanks for pointing it out, though. :)**

**_ShadowDragon357_- You might be right. I gotta say, I'm loving this so much! Everyone's got their own ideas and all, and it's just so fun to read them. :)**

**_TheNinjaKitty13_- I'm a girl and I don't understand it half the time. XD Yeah, while I was writing that out, I thought it would be fun for Danny to think about dealing with two Sams in the future. **

**_Looka'sMagicHell_- Hey, no slowing down here! :D ...Plus I'm under threat by a friend. I was smiling while I was writing it. So cute 'n fluffy... I honestly hope I marry someone like him. **

**_smallvillephantom14_- Well, his nickname IS Clueless 1... **

**_BrittneyluvsChrist_- Thanks, and well...maybe you'll find out. *WINK WINK* ;)**

**_halofreak1990_- It was a chapter, but I got really sick and couldn't bring myself to finish it. I felt like I'd kept everyone waiting long enough, so I went ahead and posted it.**

**_Codiak_- Well you got more. Yes, more. :)**


	11. Chapter 11

~Chapter 11~

_November 12_

_I can't believe he has stayed with me this long. He must really want these twins. I thought for sure he would break under the pressure but he hasn't. I remember when he told me he was fine with twins, even though we both thought it was going to be one baby. He bent down and kissed my stomach then, and told me he wanted to help me take care of them. He meant what he said. But he's a boy. I'll have to keep an eye on him, just in case._

_November 18_

_He showed me a notebook I never even knew he had. I thought there was another girl, but there wasn't. He wants a family. SF stands for Sam Fenton. It has a nice ring to it. And speaking of rings, he has planned our wedding. Tucker wasn't in the picture. I don't know what happened to poor Tucker. I also learned that he is failing art class. Everyone in that book was a stick person, and they only had four fingers. None of them had noses. He drew the twins in most of his pictures. He also threw in another baby, but I'm not so sure I like that idea. I think he's just overly excited about this. It'll wear off in time. And I'll be ready when it does._

_November 28_

_I heard him call me a dove in his sleep last night. Did he remember what happened when he was hyped up on moon flower pollen? Come to think of it, he told me he remembered some things. That was also when he caught me cutting. I'm glad he did. I know I put him through a hard time, but he helped me a lot. I owe him bigtime. Thanks to him, I'm not cutting anymore and I don't think I'll ever do it again. I wish I can help him for a change. I can't think of any other way to make it up to him for putting him through all that. He didn't deserve it. It's my biggest regret._

_November 29  
><em>

_I think there's something different about him. I saw him tightening all those loose bolts on the ghost portal today. He got so sweaty he had to take his shirt off. I had to hide behind the wall so he wouldn't be embarrassed. He's always so modest about his body. Everything always has to be covered, even at a water park. He looks different now. Fighting all those ghosts has really paid off for him. He still looks scrawny, but I'll have to make sure other girls won't try to catch his attention._

_November 30_

_I know what it is now! He's stronger! I couldn't tell before since the light was dimmer in the lab, but his muscles have grown. He isn't just charming anymore, he's really attractive. And muscular. I don't know why I keep looking at him and remembering how he looked shirtless. I wish I could see that again. I probably never will, but I'm hoping I'll catch him off guard. Of course, I'll have to hide, but it'll be oh so worth it._

_December 1_

_Why do I keep drooling over him?! He's already my boyfriend! I always told myself I would never get this way around a guy, but here I am thinking about him all the time! Forget this! I'm done writing!_

_December 2_

_He keeps looking at me weird. Like, really weird. He acts weird too. I kiss him a lot, but he always gets confused afterward. Why? Is this some kind of boy code? How am I supposed to know boy code? He must be sending me a message or something... But how am I supposed to know what it is? I'm a girl, did he forget that? I don't know, he might be messing with me. Show a little love, and this is what you get. Well why don't I start messing with him? See how he likes it! Ha!_

_December 3_

_So...um...I tried messing with him but...I accidentally caught him shirtless again. It stopped me dead in my tracks. I was going to kiss him on the lips while wearing thick lipstick, but he was just walking out of the bathroom with wet hair and a towel around his waist. Suddenly I didn't want to mess with him. Instead, I hid like a chipmunk hiding from a bird. And he is one strong bird..._

_December 4_

_I'm really starting to hate shirts._

_December 10_

_I still haven't seen him shirtless again. I wish he would just take it off already! I mean, I'm his girlfriend. There's no shame in being shirtless, especially if it's a guy. But no, not my guy. I get the guy with a cute face and a ripped body, and I'm not allowed to see it?! Why? Ugh...I'll have to bring out the lipstick again..._

_December 11_

_So here I am...again. I'm tired of waiting for him to take his shirt off. Why can't a ghost rip it or something? Then he would have to come back here and change into another shirt. Which means he would have to get out of his current one... For future reference, I'm smiling right now._

_December 12_

_I'm writing this as I hear the shower running. He'll be too embarrassed if I'm here when he gets out and he'll try to hide himself. I don't want that, so once I hear the water turn off, I'm gone. I'm his girlfriend, he doesn't have to be this modest with me anymore. Plus, we live together. We even sleep in the same bed together! It can't be that terrible to show off in front of me every now and then. That's what most guys do, boyfriend or not. Being as I'm his girlfriend, he should be doing that more often._

_December 13_

_Being shirtless is a guy thing. Even in hot temperatures, he refuses to take his shirt off if he knows someone's watching him. I've noticed his eye has been twitching lately. I don't want to ask him about that. Maybe he's stressed over something. It might embarrass him. He already has enough with being forced to juggle school, ghost fighting, and family time. There's no need to put more on his plate. Still, it's a little weird. And this is the boy who has ghost powers._

_December 14_

_I haven't heard him call me his dove ever since that one night he let it slip in his sleep. I'm hoping that isn't a one-time thing. I won't mind if he chooses to call me his dove. He hasn't chosen a pet name for me. He wraps his arms around me each night. I always feel safe with him. I know he'll protect me. I want to be called a dove. Maybe it sounds weird coming from a goth, but I really want him to call me that. He better not start calling me 'baby'. I've always hated that pet name. Dove might be a little too unique for it to be remotely normal, but I like it. It seems perfect, but maybe I'm saying that because that was my name when he was intoxicated. And besides, he still wraps his arms around me, so why can't he call me 'dove'?_

_December 15_

_I am officially ready to bang my head against a brick wall until I knock myself unconscious. I've been trying to flirt with him for how long now? And all my efforts have been met with no success, not even progress! I'm also trying really hard to make him call me his dove again. I'm starting to think it was just a one-time thing, and it might never happen again. I can always tell him up front, but if he remembered my temporary name, he could be mortified. He's always so shy, even now. Why?_

_December 16_

_Well, a ghost didn't rip his shirt like I was hoping, but it still forced him to take his shirt off! He got hit while he was morphing and he got cut deep. I got to patch him up, which means I finally had the chance to feel his muscles without pressing myself against him on the bed. He thought I was cleaning the wound and I was, but he didn't need a thousand peroxide dousings and a thousand more cotton balls. He was acting like such a baby. It couldn't have possibly hurt that bad. At least his cut was completely disinfected._

**A/N (MERRY CHRISTMAS!)**

**And thus, the secrets of Sam's diary are revealed! And what's funnier, Danny has no idea about any of this. :D Good ol' Danny. And he doesn't know Sam caught him shirtless twice. Heh heh. Poor Danny. Oh, and the eye twitching part was Danny being so confused he couldn't take it. :) Poor, poor Danny. And did anyone notice that Sam started writing in her diary more frequently after she saw Danny shirtless for the first time? Just wanted to point that out, because two chapters ago I said she was "wearing out her pencils". I told you this would be a special chapter!**

**No review quota, as a Christmas gift. :)**

**But review replies are practically mandatory, so:**

**_BrittneyluvsChrist_- Well, he never actually figured it out. Tucker had to tell it to him straight. XD Of course I didn't tell you everything! I'm a twister writer, I leave much-hated cliffhangers and throw twists in at time you least expect it. At least you know what's in her diary now.**

**_ShadowDragon357_- ...Daaaaang... You got the whole story planned out, do you? ;) I've said it once, I'll say it again...I'm a twister writer It's not that he wasn't satisfied with getting kisses from her, it was just that he was so frustrated with it. But yeah, he's tired of the little pecks on the cheek and does in fact want more...such as...I dunno, a REAL kiss. XD**

**_Thunber_- Oh, why thank you. :) I promised a sequel in FWB, so I'll keep that promise no matter what it takes. lol Yeah, I never, EVER expected such a story to take off like it did. Especially with the first chapter and the crappy summary...egh... And it's not offensive at all, I feel that way about a lot of stories and even now I'll keep an eye out but won't always read them. Your English is very good, better than some native English-speakers.**

**_Codiak_- XD You are so weird sometimes, I swear. :P I take it you've come crawling back to the DP realm? ...MARF.**

**_Jaded Jimmie Productions_- OMG! Of course I remember you! Alexis. ;D It's great to see you again! ...Or...read you again. :P**

**_Inuyuke_- You weren't mean about it. Reviews are a way for fellow authors/readers to help a person improve his/her writing skills. I know, right? I was tired of leaving Tucker out of all this and making him insignificant, so I got him to tell Danny everything. Which turned out to be true. :3**

**_LittleBoomBoom_- ;) Gotta love Clueless 1.**

**_Looka'sMagicHell_- Yeah. There's going to be more cuteness, don't you worry about that! ;D But this is a future story, remember? There will be all kinda of genres in it. XD I know! I loved writing that whole scene, making poor Danny so confused and then finally being hit in the face with discovering Sam thinks he's hot. :3 He really is.  
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**_PlasticPencils_- Didn't notice what? lol! Maybe he won't marry her at all... You never know with me, do you? Be it in real life, OR in the fanfiction realm. XP  
><strong>

**_TheNinjaKitty13_- Boys are clueless about EVERYTHING. -_- *sigh* But, I have to live up to Danny's 'Clueless 1' nickname. I saw the chance and took it. :3 He makes it too easy!  
><strong>

**_Favorite Daughter of Hades_- :P Yes, you most certainly are. Wait no more! :D  
><strong>

**Okay, so I have the next chapter all written out BUT it requires many revisions before it's ready. Apparently the space key on my keyboard is kinda...hateful. There are words that are improperly spaced and split up in the middle. Well, at least for once I'm not having another fanfiction problem (anyone remember how many problems I had during Flowers Will Bloom?).  
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****Sorry if this was a slow update. Oh, and even sorrier if Sam seems too OOC-ish in the chapter. It's her personal feelings about Danny.**  
><strong>


	12. Chapter 12

~Chapter 12~

Sam sighed heavily as she laid impatiently in bed. Danny had been acting a little strangely around her ever since he got home from school. She wasn't necessarily tired...okay, maybe a little bit...but she wanted him to stop being so shy all the time. He didn't need to anymore! But Danny was intentionally taking as much time as he could on his homework. The twins were asleep, and the only other person awake in the house was Jazz.

"Danny," she said. "Can't it wait?"

His head shot up and he blushed. "Uh...no..." He laughed awkwardly. "Lancer's really killing me lately...and...there was a ghost..."

"Danny, come on," she drawled. "I can read you like an open book. I know there wasn't a ghost attack. Get in bed. I need to talk to you."

He smiled nervously. "N-Now? You need to talk to me now? A-About what?"

She sat up and pushed the covers away, patting the empty space next to her. "Come and find out."

He swallowed. She wasn't quite sure why. He seemed even more uncomfortable than when he'd asked her if he could stay in the birth room while the babies were being born. He was very hesitant and he seemed...almost reluctant. She was starting think she was the one making him this way. All the flirting had clearly taken its toll. Now he didn't know what to do anymore. Or...so she assumed. It was starting to look that way. Maybe she should lay off a bit, give the poor guy a break.

After what seemed like forever, far too long for her liking, he climbed into bed with her, consciously leaving the lamp on. She quickly pointed to the little thing and he got back up to turn it off, and had to get back in bed. Their little light source had been turned off. If Danny needed light, he could flash his eyes. He cleared his throat.

"Y-You...wanted to talk to me?" he whispered, his voice small and unsure.

Sam pulled the covers over the both of them and nodded. "Yeah. I want to ask a favor..."

He swallowed again.

"Kiss me."

His entire body seemed to go limp. Either he'd passed out, or he had relaxed himself. "Huh?"

Putting a hand on his shoulder, she repeated herself. "Kiss me."

"Wha...? Why?" he mumbled.

"Does there have to be an occasion, Danny? Just do it. Kiss me."

He opened his mouth but refused to move his head forward, refused to get closer. Refused to kiss her. She didn't know why. He kissed her goodbye every day before he went to school. Sure, it was on the cheek, but it was a kiss nevertheless. Although...it wasn't really the kiss she wanted. Now they were completely alone in the dark where no one would barge in...and he couldn't do it. A simple kiss, that was it! And he couldn't do it.

He never kissed her. Not once. She was always the one kissing him, never the other way around. This had been a test, and she was proven right. He wouldn't kiss her, not even now. Not even when she told him to!

"Why do you keep doing that?" she asked quietly.

"What do you mean?"

She sighed. "You never kiss me."

He seemed to be taken aback for a second. "Yes I do."

"No you absolutely do not," she retorted. "I always kiss you, you never kiss me."

For a minute the only sound to be heard was their breathing, and one of the twins rolling over in their crib. The silence lingered there for awhile. A long time. Two eternities would've covered the length of that silence. And with each passing second it just grew thicker and thicker, more and more uncomfortable. She still refused to speak until she had a reply from Danny. He was so confusing. Yes, he leaned over to kiss her, but she was the one who kissed him. Why couldn't he just kiss her every now and then? Was it really that hard?

"I..." He was trying to say the words, but he wasn't having much luck in getting them out there. "...I'm sorry, Sam."

"Why won't you ever kiss me?" she asked, almost begging him to kiss her for the first time.

She didn't need any light to know he was looking away right now, for reasons unknown to her.

He took a deep breath and said, "I made a promise to you."

She propped herself up on her elbow.

He continued. "Back when I first showed you those moon flowers, back when I tried to kiss you for the first time, you got scared and ran away from me. I promised I would never try to kiss you again."

That's right... He _had_ promised that. She had struggled against him despite his gentleness and fled, not knowing where she was going or how to get back. Back then, she had, for some reason, been scared for her life, even though she knew all too well that Danny would never hurt her. She didn't let him kiss her. When he caught up to her, she tripped and he'd taken that chance to apologize and say how stupid he was and how he knew he shouldn't have done what he did...and how he would never do it again, he _promised_. She didn't even remember that promise, but he had kept it all this time, for nearly two years.

She smiled tenderly, knowing he wouldn't be able to see it. "Danny...it's fine."

He shook his head violently. "No! No, it's not fine! I can't _believe_ I actually tried to kiss you after everything you'd been through! I was such an idiot! And I _knew_ you weren't ready!"

She gently cupped one hand around his face. "I wasn't ready back then, but I am now. You have my consent to break that promise. Now, kiss me." She lowered herself back onto the bed, her head closer to his this time.

"I...I don't know, Sam..." he murmured.

She moved even closer to him, determined more than ever to get that kiss. By force if necessary.

He hesitantly bent his head down, and carefully angled it. He seemed to be having a hard time kissing his girlfriend. His. _Girlfriend_. In light of what had happened back in the moon flower field, it was understandable why he would act like this. But they were together now, and boyfriends kissed girlfriends. Vice versa was also true, but in this instance, Danny would be undergoing serious training if he couldn't go through with this one tiny kiss.

But he did it. He kissed her. And he didn't break away after the first second either; it was a genuine, loving kiss. One that only he could give her. And suddenly any and all problems he had with it evaporated.

It was Sam who pulled away first. However, she kept herself at such a distance that their lips weren't two inches from each other.

"Another favor?" he laughed.

"Actually, yes. I don't know if you remember this, but you used to call me your dove when you were delirious with moon flower pollen. You declared that you 'couldn't go to sleep without your dove'. And that was my name for as long as you stayed that way. I wouldn't mind if you called me that again," she whispered.

"Well..." he breathed. "Now might be a good time to tell you that I've been secretly calling you my dove ever since."

"I didn't think you remembered."

He chuckled. "I didn't think you knew."

"So does this mean you'll start calling me that?"

He smirked. "Maybe..."

He kissed her again in that instant. Two in one night. Maybe he wouldn't need training after all.

* * *

><p>Sam woke with a start, shooting up as if she was a weed in the summertime. The bed shook violently as she turned around, straining every part of her body as she thoroughly scanned the room. The door was closed. It was pitch-black. It was silent...except for breathing. She heard breathing. Heavy, rugged breathing. She looked to her side. It wasn't Danny's breathing. She looked toward the twins' crib. It wasn't their breathing. She looked down at herself. It wasn't her breathing. She wasn't alone. There was someone else in the room.<p>

She slowly reached her hand out and tapped Danny's shoulder. He kept sleeping, snoring softly. He was laying on his stomach. One of his arms was pinned beneath his body; the other hung limply over the side of the bed.

She tapped him again, harder this time. He still didn't wake up. To be fair to him, he'd stayed up pretty late considering how hard he worked during the school week. Then she'd made him stay up even later so they could talk.

The breathing became louder. She covered her ears, fear dwelling in the pit of her stomach. It wouldn't go away; it was in her head now! She couldn't get it out; it was there and it wouldn't leave! She shut her eyes tightly and tried to whisper comforting phrases to herself, even going so far as to slowly rock herself back and forth. She heard the breathing stop, and felt something move around her. She opened her eyes.

She saw a dark shadow move across the room.

"DANNY!" she screamed.

He jumped and almost fell out of bed. "What?!"

She kept her eyes locked on where the shadow had moved. It hadn't just moved...it had slithered eerily across the wall. Maybe it was a ghost...maybe it was something else... Maybe it was _someone_ else...

"Sam?" he mumbled as he cautiously looked over the room.

"I swear, I _swear_ I saw something. It moved over there!" She directed his attention to a corner in the room that, especially at night, was extremely dark and could hide anything...or any_one_.

He got up, barely concerned. That corner was usually the corner where all the mysterious shadows went. It was likely nothing more than a figment of Sam's imagination. He fell asleep with his arms around her...so why...? As he got closer, it became evident that once again, it was just a dark corner and harbored no shadow people. No evil to be found here.

He turned around and got back into bed. The goth was still tense with fear.

"There's nothing there," he sighed. "I thought you said the nightmares were gone."

She leaned into him, eyes still wide and watery. The last thing Danny wanted was to see the girl he loved cry. But she would. She always did after having these kinds of nightmares. She would wake up scared stiff, survey the room, swear to the high heavens that she saw someone, and then cry even when he checked for these clans of horrifying shadow people that scared girls while they slept. And Sam hadn't had a nightmare in months. She told him they were gone for good but...apparently they weren't.

He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer.

"It's alright," he cooed. "It was just a bad dream."

She sniffled.

"Nothing's gonna hurt you."

"How do you know? How do you know that man won't pop up again?" she cried.

"Sam-"

"You didn't know the last three times!"

He flinched. She was right, and he regretted being unable to help her. Three times she'd been attacked, and three times he'd failed to protect her. Ever since the first attack he'd been beating himself up over it, but then two more attacks happened and now...! She was like this because of him. She sat there silently, frightened beyond belief, and it was because he couldn't protect her. He promised he would, but it seemed to be the one promise he couldn't hold up. He tried to make it up to her in every way he could, but there was no way he could truly take any of this off her. He helped her through the cutting part of it, but that was all he ever did for her. He would give anything to make this right again...

**A/N (MERRY CHRISTMAS...AGAIN!)**

**Okay, so I want to ask you guys something real quick: did ANYONE notice that Danny has never kissed Sam? Because if you look back, you won't find a kiss that he initiated; it was all Sam. And if you've managed to catch that, then now you know why.**

**Also, and this might be to your dismay, I was reviewing FWB (which by the way, there were a ton of mistakes I need to fix) and found out that those chapters had around 3,000 words each, NOT including the A/N's. This story has around 2,000 words each. Therefore, starting two chapters from now (I've written out the next one already, but it's mostly plot and outlining; needs a little fixing up first), I will be spending more time on these chapters so I can go back to writing 3,000 words per chapter (wpc, kinda like mph). I'll also focus on adding a little more physical detail, which I know I have a tendency to neglect.**

****And a little note to those out there who care: I realize this story has lost a TON of fans because of the ridiculously long hiatus, but I'm starting to wonder even now if I even have that many left. I used to get around twenty reviews per chapter, and THOUSANDS of readers. But now it's like, seven reviews per chapter and about 1,000 readers. Which, compared to Flowers Will Bloom, isn't much. People look at the number of reviews and tie it to how good the story might be, so if you like the story, please just take a second to review. If you love the story, maybe recommend it to friends. I don't want to whine about it, but I really do feel like people have lost interest, especially because this is a sequel and as we all know, the base story must be read in order for the sequel to be fully understood. So...please take a little time to review. And before I move on, I want you to know how much I love reading your thoughts about the story; they really pick me up, make me feel good, and motivate me all the more to continue on with this story. And that's all I have to say on that matter.  
><strong>**

**Now, to get this wrapped up so I can transform that next chapter into something worth your time, the review quota this time is one hundred sixty-one (161) reviews. Hope I'm not asking too much; just wanna see if I can make it...**

**And now for the review replies and we'll be done (which is good, because after this I can get crackin' on the next chapter and update quicker):**

**_TheNinjaKitty13_- ;) Yeah, I was trying to make it funny by doing that. Honestly the lipstick part was one of my favorites, what with her catching Danny just coming out of the shower.**

**_Inuyuke_- Now that she's in love? She's been in love all along.**

**_Jaded Jimmie Productions_- Family's good, and I don't know if you know this, but I have a baby sister now. :) I still have a FB, but I never really get on it anymore. lol! Danny will remain clueless through the ENTIRE STORY, so don't expect me to give him a break anytime soon.**

**_MagicHecate_- No problem. :) I had fun writing it. Well, I did promise everyone that read/reviewed FWB a sequel, and so here it is. You think they're cute now, just wait! :D Yes, the eye twitching. Well...right now the twins are just a year old, so...no, they don't. They don't even know what ghosts are yet. I won't give away NUTHIN'! **

**_BrittneyluvsChrist_- What did you mean when you said, "I personally LIKE this side of Sam"? Literally, because I mean, she hasn't been depressed. Well, as far as I can remember... Honestly I've written so many stories that the ideas tend to get mixed up in my head. I'll start working on a chapter for a Gravity Falls story and end up writing it as a Danny Phantom chapter. -_- Then I'll have to go back and change it all...**

**_Looka'sMagicHell_- Ah-ah-ah, you didn't SEE her. ;) You read her diary. Oh she knows. That's why she kept flirting with him so much. XD And she gets frustrated.****  
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	13. Chapter 13

**Pre-story A/N: THERE IS AN IMPORTANT NOTE AT THE END OF THIS CHAPTER! PLEASE READ IT!**

~Chapter 13~

It took weeks, about a month and a half actually, for Danny to: one, overcome his anxiety about knowing how Sam felt about his body; and two, start calling her 'dove' without feeling weird. Danny's relationship with Sam was becoming a little more intimate...physically. They got up closer to each other when they were alone, they kissed more now that Danny was no longer bound to his promise, and Danny held her tightly against him at night, to the point where she was too close to back into him. The twins usually went down for their two-hour nap around the same time Danny and Tucker were let out for lunch, during which time Sam started visiting.

Nobody quite knew what changed that night, but it seemed as if something strenuous had been lifted off the young couples' relationship, something that had been holding them back for some time now. And now there was nothing standing in their way. They could kiss in front of everyone and neither of them would get too shy about it.

"Hey, Sam," a geek greeted.

The goth waved to him, setting down a bagged lunch as she stood beside Danny.

"So how are the twins doing? I haven't seen them in forever," Tucker said.

"Well," Sam replied, "they're learning to climb on things. Junior's in on it now, so we've got our hands full."

Danny turned around. "I thought they were sleeping."

She nodded. "They are. And thank God for naps..."

The boys chuckled and Danny patted the seat beside him. No sooner than the goth sat down, a spy appeared from behind a tree truck. Only natural that it would be a girl. Even more natural that it would be Star, the top blonde of the social grapevine.

"Tuck, Mosquito," the halfa pointed out, his voice monotone as he pointed his thumb at the girl behind him.

Mosquitoes were what they'd come to call the pests who were overly determined to get the dirt on Sam and the 'baby', being as the Mosquitoes didn't know about Sam's 'baby' turning out to be twins. And Sam still wanted to keep it that way. It was actually pretty funny to watch everyone so desperate to get news like this; news about someone who, before the twins were born, they thought so lowly of. The only real downside was having to constantly shoo them away. Another reason they were called 'Mosquitoes'.

"Get outta here!" Tucker yelled, throwing his hands up.

Star turned around and ran the length of the school grounds to talk to her friends, the popular people that seemed to become less and less popular with each day that had passed since Sam started visiting for lunch. Paulina probably wasn't liking her downfall.

Once the Mosquito was out of sight, Sam moved closer to Danny. He wrapped one arm around her as he continued to eat the disgusting substance that the cafeteria dared to call food. It tasted like goop filled with nothing but empty calories. Sam had brought herself an apple and two clementines.

"Aw, you two look so cute together!" the techno-geek teased.

Sam smirked. "At least we're _humans_." She stopped to look at her boyfriend. "...Uh...mostly. Anyway, why don't you find yourself a girl? A _real_ girl."

"Uh, tried that!" he declared, as thought they were dumb. "Didn't work out. Back to technology."

Danny rolled his eyes, a move normally made by Sam. "Tuck, you can't _seriously_ be in love with a machine."

The geek's lips curved upward. "Says the ghost who loves a human."

"Pfft. Tell that to Twilight," he muttered.

"At least we're alive," Sam chimed, deciding it was her turn to jump in.

"Alright!" Tucker gave. He lowered his voice. "I do have a girl I like...but she doesn't like me at all."

Danny winked at Sam, giving her the impression that he'd known all along. And that wasn't really weird. The boys went to school together every day and had been best friends since preschool.

"Who is she?" Danny asked halfheartedly.

He shook his head. "No. You guys won't like her. Besides, it's probably just a puppy love phase."

Danny opened his mouth to reply, but spotted a girl walking toward them. Paulina, of all people, was surrendering her popularity, although she could easily regain it, to join the Mosquitoes in pestering Sam for information. The girl had some nerve to strut up here like that, given how she was the one who forced Sam to admit to being pregnant. She had practically started the miserable school life the goth had been forced to endure. So walking straight up to them was a bad idea. Then again, Sam had been right about her being shallow. Apparently she had been right about her being stupid as well. The 'goddess' Paulina was about to get the disappointment of a lifetime. She was one of the dwindling number of girls who had yet to directly ask about the twins.

Sam clenched her jaw and unknowingly tightened her hold on the side of Danny's shirt. She was ready to rip Paulina to shreds. Thankfully Danny was there to stop her before she did something stupid.

"Hey, Danny," the Latina greeted, her voice laced heavily with sweetness.

He didn't have time to get one word out before she sat down next to him.

"How are you today?" she chirped, as if he didn't know what was going on.

"Fine," he said stiffly. "_We_ are doing fine."

She smiled. "Oh, of course. I've been meaning to ask how your baby is doing too. I love kids and I just want to know if it's okay."

Sam audibly cleared her throat and craned her neck around Danny's chest. "What makes you think you deserve to know?"

A look of hurt flashed across Paulina's expression and she once again turned to Danny, hoping he would quiet Sam down and tell her whatever she wanted to know. Her little fantasy dreams of being utterly irresistible were going to be shattered here in a second if she didn't stop. Apparently she hadn't yet figured out that she had to be very careful about what she said around Sam.

Danny took a breath, knowing Sam wouldn't hold back forever. At least she didn't know that Paulina and a ton of other girls had been flirting with him on a day-to-day basis. If she knew that... It sent a slight chill down his spine.

"Anyway..." Paulina continued, brushing off what Sam said. "I bet it's hard raising a baby. And you're so young..." She gently took one of his hands in hers. "I could come over sometime and help if you want."

Not wanting to be rude, Danny didn't pull his hand back. "Thanks, but Sam's an excellent mother."

Sam's grip on his shirt went slack. He sighed in relief. He'd hoped that compliment would settle her down a bit. The last thing this school needed was a catfight.

Paulina lifted herself just enough to where she could whisper in his ear without being heard by others. "You know...I think we should take this somewhere else."

He shook his head. "I don't think so. If you have something to say, you can say it in front of my best friend and my girlfriend."

He felt Sam lean into him. Whether she was relaxing, snuggling, or trying to keep a closer watch on her sworn enemy, he didn't know. But right now, as long as she wasn't trying to strangle Paulina... Thankfully Sam wasn't the type to get jealous, but she knew what Paulina was doing. If he saw another boy flirting with Sam, even if she wasn't complying, he knew he would begin acting the same way Sam was.

Paulina huffed and pouted just slightly enough to make herself look cute. Danny went unfazed by her charm.

"I only want to help," she offered, falsely.

"No you don't. You only want information, and unless Sam says it's okay, I won't tell you anything," the halfa replied.

The Latina growled in frustration, but quickly regained her composure, cleared her throat, and turned to Sam. "Is it okay to let Danny tell me?"

Sam smiled slyly, taking great satisfaction in knowing how upset she was making Paulina. "Maybe if you hadn't made my life so miserable, I would've told you myself."

Paulina flipped her hair, pushing it behind her ears. "You can't keep secrets from me. I'll find out sooner or later."

"That's what you said in the classroom when everyone found out I was pregnant...no thanks to you," Sam muttered.

"The least you can do is tell me its name!" she shouted, attracting the attention of nearby students who had previously been minding their own business.

"Uh, the least I can do? The least I can do?! I don't owe you anything! You don't deserve anything from me! What right do you have to be so demanding after you pulled me down so low?!" Sam yelled, her voice high-pitched and shrill.

Danny stood up at that point and exchanged a quick glance with Tucker. "Tuck, Mosquito."

The halfa pulled Paulina out of her seat and, breaking Sam's grasp on him, escorted her to the other end of the schoolyard. Their conversation continued privately, and was something Paulina liked even less than being treated so 'horribly' by Sam.

"Look," he said as he locked his eyes onto her, "you have no right whatsoever to even _speak_ to Sam after what you did to her. I don't care how popular you are, or how attractive you _think_ you are. Sam's already been through enough, she doesn't need any more of your crap. Now you listen, and you listen good. If you ever, _ever_ speak to her the way you just did back there, we're going to have a very serious problem. Understand?"

She reluctantly nodded and huffed in displeasure.

Danny turned around and made his way back to Sam and Tucker. Sam didn't lean into him, didn't peck him on the cheek like she still did sometimes, and didn't grab his shirt. He didn't know if she was upset with him for leaving her, or if she was just...something. She was hard to figure out sometimes.

"You alright?" he asked her, moving one hand over hers.

She nodded and looked up at him. "What happened over there?"

He smirked. "Let's just say Paulina won't be messing with you anymore."

"Hey, what about me? I get attacked just as much as you do," Tucker complained.

"Yeah, well, we're gonna get nailed wherever we go. Sam has the freedom to leave whenever she wants," he pointed out.

The goth didn't talk anymore. She was hungry and the boys would be hearing the bell ring in about fifteen minutes. There wasn't much time left to sit and talk considering none of them had taken one bite of their food yet. Apparently what they told her about the Mosquitoes was true. They were annoying little bugs that constantly had to be shooed away and even swatted at if necessary. Seemed like Paulina had received a swat just now.

* * *

><p>"Danny?" Sam murmured as the two laid in bed. She heard a noise that told her he was listening. "Do you still find her attractive?"<p>

He pulled Sam onto his shoulder, never having been tired in the first place. "Paulina?"

Sam nodded.

"You were right about her. She's shallow. Furthest thing from perfect," he replied.

"Do you still find her attractive though?" she repeated.

He chuckled and turned his head. Sam's hair was tickling his face and neck. He was fine with that. He actually liked it. It let him feel closer to her physically. And physical contact had done wonders for them. Now if only he could bring himself to call her his dove out in public. Right now he was still stuck at calling her that only when they were alone and out of earshot.

"If you're talking about her looks...I like yours better," he said, planting a kiss on her forehead.

"Don't lie. I'm not as pretty as her."

He smiled. "You are to me."

"You're just saying that because you're my boyfriend," she stated.

"No I'm not. You're beautiful. Probably the prettiest girl on the planet," he whispered against her forehead, where his lips remained.

"And you're probably the best liar on the planet," she whispered back.

"I wouldn't lie to my dove."

"You just did."

"I'm not lying, I swear. You're just too hard on yourself. So what if Paulina has good looks? Yours could blow hers out of the water. And you know where all the water's gonna land?" He grinned.

"Where?"

"On her head."

She giggled. "Corny."

"Pretty."

"Cheesy."

"Gorgeous."

"Cliche."

"Beautiful. Glamorous. Amazing. Captivating. Attractive. Cute."

"You can't keep going forever."

"Lovely. Stunning. Surreal. Unbelievable. Graceful. Magnificent."

"Danny..."

"Fair. Perfect. Alluring. Magnetic. Enchanting. Elegant. Breathtaking."

"Seriously..."

"Radiant. Ravishing. Bewitching. Angelic. Dazzling. Mesmerizing."

She giggled again. "Okay, enough about my looks already."

"Funny. Smart. Sweet. Caring. Charming. Wonderful. Loving. Willful. Strong. Independent. Unique. Brave. Determined-"

In an effort to shut him up, Sam quickly kissed him on the lips. It worked and he was finally quieted. It was weird how she ended up using her lips as a muzzle, but...whatever worked. She didn't need to tell him she liked the compliments; he already knew. Which was the reason he really _could_ go on forever.

**A/N**

**_*IMPORTANT NOTE AFTER THE REVIEW REPLIES!*_  
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**lol I LOVED writing out their little argument. So cute! As promised, next chapter will be 3,000+ words. :) I'm really trying to get back into my 3,000+ wpc zone. And my idea for the next chapter will be AWESOME! ...I hope... **

**Anyway, I'm a little pushed for time and since it's a Friday, I know this is the perfect day to update since everyone will be returning home tired from school. What better way to relax than reading a story? :) Seriously though, I'm just gonna get to the point and hope you all forgive me for it. **

**New review thingy is...and I'm SERIOUSLY pushing it here...one hundred seventy-two (172) reviews. Ten more than I have now. And I'm pushing it because 3,000 words is a lot to write and during FWB I got really motivated to write because I got so many reviews.**

**Your review replies:  
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**_BrittneyluvsChrist_- Oh, no, don't worry. I knew it wasn't a jab at my writing. :) I only wanted to know what you meant, that's all. Wow...that's so cool, I futurized Sam! :D AWESOME! Thanks. :)  
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**_Inuyuke_- lol More love. 'Kay. :P The last chapter of FWB, if you can remember me saying this, was not only an epilogue, but it was a chapter that contained events NOT TO BE SEEN in this story. Ever. So it's both an epilogue and a bonus chapter. ;)  
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**_JaymieKAY8_- Thank you. :)  
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**_Looka'sMagicHell_- Oh, there's more to come. But I'm glad to know that there's finally a fan favorite in here. There were a few in FWB, the most popular being chapter 11. I also remember everyone flipping out when he attacked Sam the third time and Danny was cutting off the cloths. Not sure if that was a fan favorite but it sure did raise one heck of an upset. :3 But everyone loved chapter 11 except Samara, who never seemed to LIKE any of my chapters. Anyway, I hope you like this cute chapter, because next one will be a little more actiony and a little less cute. I think it'll turn out well though. And thanks! :) It means a lot to me! **

**_smallvillephantom14_- ;) Poor Sam and Danny? lol After this chapter, who's poor now? (*COUGH* Paulina *COUGH*)  
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**_Sammi_- That's the thing; this is a sequel. Some people are impatient and don't want to read 33 chapters of FWB just to get through 13 MORE chapters of FWG. 46 chapters is a lot to read. :/ Although I'll admit people are STILL binge-reading FWB even though that old thing was published in 2010 and finished sometime in 2011. Bottom line, it's a lot to read and some people will find it too much work and skip it.  
><strong>

**Favorite Daughter of Hades- I updated. :3 And I'm glad you enjoy it. Hopefully you'll enjoy the rest of it.  
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**_TheNinjaKitty13_- lol Tootsie Pop man. I can't tell you. ;)  
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**_Thunber_- :) Wow, thanks. I care a ton and it really does mean a lot to me. :D Thanks again! You're very good at English, whether you think so or not. As for your spelling, grammar, and punctuation...most native English-speakers can't do what you do. Sad, I know, but true. Thanks, I love knowing what people think and feel about each chapter. It tells me how much more or less of an emotion I should put in the next one, and it oftentimes influences what HAPPENS in that chapter, so reviewing is important if you want the story to lean a certain way.  
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**_*IMPORTANT NOTE BELOW!*_ **

**As I've just told my last reviewer, reviewing your feelings and thoughts about each chapter tells me what to do with the next chapter. If you want more romance, the next chapter will likely have more romance. You want more humor, the next chapter will likely have more humor. Reviewing also usually influences what actually happens in the next chapter, as your feelings come across to me and sparks new ideas to fit your desires. SO COMMUNICATE PEOPLE, I can only do so much!  
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	14. Chapter 14

~Chapter 14~

Six more months passed. Lilith was beginning to answer questions with a 'yes' or a 'no'. She still called Danny 'doddy'. Junior stopped making baby sounds...for the most part. He was also starting to mimic his sister by answering questions correctly. This became much easier for everyone now that the twins could tell them what they wanted and what they didn't want. Now the two didn't spit out their food if they didn't like it. Junior, however, still had a habit of dumping his food onto his tray. And on Sam. It was for this reason that doddy got to feed them their dinner. Danny still helped out with the twins as much as he could, but ghost attacks had become frequent recently, and coupled with his schoolwork, hiding his human identity had become difficult. His periodic absences during school and his secretiveness at home had brought much trouble for him. Detention at school, lectures at home... It wasn't as easy anymore. Not that it had ever been easy, but now there were rough bumps everywhere.

Even Jazz, with the help of Sam and sometimes Tucker, had a harder time keeping his secret. Tucker usually covered for his friend at school, and often got in trouble for it. Detention was inevitable for the both of them. Because of all this, Jazz had tried many times to convince her younger brother to at least _think_ about telling Maddie and Jack the truth, that way they wouldn't hunt him and his job could be made that much easier. But he felt like he couldn't trust his parents. He told everyone that there was also a chance his parents would want blood samples, skin samples, testings, observations, and perhaps even a bit of dissection. He was also afraid they might reject him simply because he was half ghost. And frankly, he had a good point. His parents were ghost hunters, and he was a ghost. It was a possibility that they could want to hunt him, maybe even thinking their son had been taken over or replaced by a ghost. They could seriously hurt Danny, and he knew it.

Danny sighed. "How about oatmeal? You want some oatmeal?"

Lilith struggled a bit in her high chair and grunted, "No!"

"Okay, what about pears?" he asked.

"No!"

"Apples?"

"No!"

"Cheese toast?"

"No!"

He ran a hand through his hair. Lilith had to be the pickiest eater in the world. "Chicken noodle soup?"

"No!"

"Crackers?"

"No!"

"Granola bar?"

She stopped struggling, which finally boosted Danny's hopes. "Yesh..."

The halfa smiled and sighed in relief as he went to get her the granola bar. He'd been starting to think it would be one of those nights where she wouldn't eat anything. Junior was already chowing down on his cheese toast. There were crumbs and chunks of cheese everywhere. Lilith, clean but fussy. Junior, undemanding but messy. At least both of them would eat tonight.

No sooner than he unwrapped the granola bar and set it on Lilith's tray, a chilling breath escaped his mouth.

"Oh no..." he groaned. "Here...? Now...?"

He quickly ran out of the kitchen, leaving Lilith and Junior to enjoy their meals. If it was the Box Ghost, that was one thing, but if it was a more powerful ghost, like Skulker, the twins could be in real danger. As the dad and the superpowered hero who was constantly being hunted by his parents, it was his responsibility to protect his family and keep them out of harm's way. If he could get away from the house, the ghost would follow; he would be able to fight it elsewhere.

He ran out the door, jumped into the air, and rapidly transformed into Danny Phantom. He flew away from the house, searching thoroughly for the ghost that had set off his ghost sense. There were buildings, dull and lifeless, all around him. A few lights were on, but during the night even the lights seemed to be lost in the darkness. The only sounds were a few nocturnal birds crying out in the night and the wind rushing past him. His ghost sense didn't go off again. Then again, it usually only went off once, unless there was more than one ghost near. Maybe the ghost had run; maybe it had merely been passing by.

He stopped and kept himself floating above the city, still keeping an eye out for any ghosts and still paying close attention to the temperature of his breath. Seemed like the ghost was gone. He couldn't find it anywhere, for as far as he could see. It was a possibility that the outlines of the buildings blending with the dark, star-flecked sky was hiding the ghost. He would need to listen closely in case it was Ember. Her choice weapon was sound waves. She also loved to make an entrance. It couldn't be the dragon; she was too big to be hidden by all this. Plus, she was destructive and would waste no time in tearing down a whole building within seconds after arrival.

After just a few seconds, he heard a high-pitched whine from behind him. He didn't have to time turn around before a sharp stabbing sensation pierced his shoulder. The third sense that was disrupted...his vision. He saw black spots that grew until they covered his sight entirely. He felt himself falling from what had to be at least a hundred or so feet in the air.

After about a minute, he could hear, see, and feel again. He opened his eyes to find himself bombarded with white. White light, white walls, whitewhitewhite. Everything was white! Not cream, not ivory, not marble, not off-white, _just_ white. The color you would see in the material of a traditional wedding dress. Yes, it was just that white.

He quickly looked down at himself. Finally...something not white... His black shirt. He was still Phantom. He must've passed out, and he hadn't morphed when he did. That was good. Who knew where he was at...

He heard noises, voices. He could identify footsteps. They were heavy, like Sam's boots. But from what he could tell, they were being worn by someone much heavier than Sam. He couldn't find a door. In fact, he couldn't find anything but the...wait... He took another look at himself. He was wrapped up in a white rope. Great. More white. His best guess was that the next thing he would see would be white suits. Yup. Something told him he was being held in a chamber at the headquarters of the Guys In White. Or at least a base. They had to have a base in or near Amity Park to keep tracking him down. They must've used a ghost as bait to lure him out. And unfortunately, he failed to see the trap and walked...or, flew...right into it.

He sighed. Where they got the ghost, he didn't know. Right now, he didn't care. They may have gotten him, but Sam was still at home with the twins. She could be mad, possibly steaming, but he had to leave. And with his parents in the house at the time, he couldn't yell for her to watch the twins. He had to get back to them...somehow. He couldn't turn intangible and even if he could turn invisible, his form would keep the rope tight. All his ghost powers had been cancelled out, he could feel it. This had Guys In White written all over it, with the white everything and a rope that could shut down all his ghost powers.

The impossible-to-see door opened, and two agents of the Guys In White walked in.

"So," the first one said, "you're finally awake."

He frowned. "Finally? How long was I out?"

The second one casually shrugged. "About eight hours, not that it matters to you."

It _did_ matter to him. If it had been a few minutes, that was one thing. He could go home and explain to Sam what happened and why he had to leave. Now she was probably worried sick and he didn't want her or Tucker to come after him. If they were caught trying to help him, they could be arrested. Lilith and Junior needed their mother, so Sam especially couldn't come find him. Tucker had never handled the Guys In White on his own before, and he hardly had the fighting experience to take them on. He also couldn't leap into the air and fly around to dodge their weapons. It was too dangerous.

Sooner he could get out of here, sooner he could get back home.

"What exactly do you plan on doing to me?" Danny asked. "I chase ghosts away from this town, I save innocent lives, I stop burglaries and put out fires. I'm one of the good guys here."

"You also cost the government thousands of dollars to repair all the damage you do. We've been ordered to keep an eye on you...and terminate you if necessary," the second one replied.

"But first, we're going to run a few tests. We know you can take on the form of a human," the first one added.

"And you want to find out which one," the halfa figured.

"Smart kid. Now hold still," the first commanded, pulling out a large needle.

Danny closed his eyes. This needle was much larger than the one the nurse used when he'd tried to donate blood to Sam. He tried to pretend he was doing the same. But considering their blood types couldn't mix, he focused more on the pain that was sure to come. The Guys In White would take his blood, run it through a DNA tester, and probably know what his human self looked like. But recalling how his blood had changed colors at the hospital, there was a good chance they wouldn't be able to find out. Ghost DNA masked his human DNA when he was Phantom, meaning they would actually be pulling out ectoplasm...and thus, the genetic signature particular to ghosts only. But he wasn't sure if the DNA itself remained the same no matter if he was Fenton or Phantom. Only time would tell.

He was expecting the prick to be in his arm or shoulder, but it was in his neck and it hurt worse than getting hit with one of Skulker's tranquilizing darts! He could feel the ectoplasm being sucked out of him. It was a weird feeling. And they were taking a _lot_. He wanted to move from pure instinct and pull away, but logic overcame that instinct and he held still, trying not to tense up.

Finally the needle had been filled. They pulled it out of his neck. They put a cotton ball over the needle mark and taped it down. He finally opened his eyes. Thick green fluid swirled around in the needle's tube as the first agent walked out the door. The second one came over to him and pulled him up by the rope, forcing him to stand.

Danny was pushed out the door. What do you know, _more_ white walls.

"What now?" he spat. "You got what you wanted!"

"We said we would run a _few_ tests, not just one. We want to find out how you work, Phantom. You're different," he answered.

They continued to walk through the hallway.

"You aren't the first one to tell me that," Danny remarked. "You're not the only ones who want me."

The man smiled. "Oh, we know. You're wanted in the ghost world as well." He pushed the halfa forward, making him pick up the pace. "You may be seen as a hero to Amity Park, but in the government's eyes, you're an invitation to disaster."

Danny scoffed. "What?! An invitation?! Ghosts are after me because _I'm_ the one fighting them off! You never see them coming after _you_! I can do everything you can and more, all without the use of technology. Unlike you I don't have to recharge or plug in my weapons; they come built in. So when I'm more powerful than the government, you tell me how I'm an invitation!"

The halfa stopped, causing the man to bump into him.

"Besides..." Danny smirked as he looked over his shoulder. "I'm the only one here who has experience being dead. So I have experience _fighting_ the dead. I've caught more ghosts than you ever will. And to think that when you die, I'll still have my whole afterlife to do my job. Who's the invitation _now_?"

The man wordlessly pushed him forward. He stumbled but regained his balance. Talking wasn't going to get anyone anywhere. If anything, he was just prolonging these next few tests.

He was brought into another room. Big. With machines everywhere. Tools were organized neatly on white trays. Scalpels. Tweezers. Scissors. Smaller scissors. A hook. A pick. What looked like a small spoon. Other sterilized metal things that he couldn't even recognize. On another tray, about twenty needles ranging from really big to really small. He hoped they would only use the smallest needle. He'd already had that enormous life-draining needle, he sure didn't need anymore.

He gulped at he was led to a big machine. There was a bed resting at one end of it and it looked like whoever was laying on it would be pushed through a tube.

"So...what's this thing again...?" He gulped.

"Here," the man said, patting the center of the bed. The _white_ bed. "Lay on your back, close your eyes, and don't move."

Lay on his back, while he was tied up in a rope, unable to move. He wouldn't be able to get up if he laid down. Close his eyes, while there would be sounds and who-knows-what-else going on in there. Don't move, while something was obviously going to happen. What were they going to say next, don't scream in horror as your body is being mutilated?

Still, he complied. Seeing as there were sharp pointy things everywhere else, this bed seemed to be the safest place in the room right now. Besides, the better he cooperated, the easier things would be for everyone. But once they cut off this rope...time to rebel.

The man helped him onto the bed. Getting on it with no free hands was a little difficult. He was turned onto his back. He stayed perfectly still, making sure to keep his breathing even and in check. If there was one thing he wasn't going to do here, it was show fear. He closed his eyes and didn't open them even when he heard typing on a computer hooked up to this machine. A small beep was heard and the bed started moving into the tube. The was a slow flash of red that appeared several times. A scanner, he realized. They were trying to find out what was going on inside him. Probably what his powers derived from, if he had an extra organ, or maybe something like a transformation sequence.

Oh man. Transformation. Of course, that's what they wanted to know! They already knew he could 'take on human form'-which was completely wrong since he was actually taking on a ghost form-and they wanted to know how he did it. And to further prove that point, he'd been told by the man that they wanted to see 'how he worked'. They would try to figure out the source of his powers. They would want to know how he could freely turn invisible and force intangibility on himself. Normal ghost powers were obviously still a complete mystery to them. But they _did_ say he was different... They were probably hoping to examine him and unlock the secrets of all ectoplasmic beings. Not all ghosts had the same powers, so they might be in for a bit of a disappointment.

* * *

><p>"Doddy?" Lilith called out, for the millionth time that night. She couldn't go to sleep, no matter how many times Sam tried to rock her. Junior was already down and snoring...kinda like Danny, really. "Doddy?"<p>

Sam hadn't been able to sleep either, and it wasn't just because Danny wasn't in bed with her. She hadn't seen him eight entire hours, a little longer now actually. Assuming this had something to do with his ghost powers, she had covered for him, saying he had gone over to Tucker's to have a study night. Thankfully everyone believed her and settled down. But she'd called Tucker, and he wasn't there. He hadn't seen Danny in the eight hours he was gone. It was like he up and vanished. Of course, he could turn himself invisible, but this time he had _vanished_ vanished.

At first she had been broiling with anger, thinking he'd tried to sneak away to do something else. But then fifteen minutes passed, and she realized this wasn't like him. Then thirty minutes passed, and she was hoping the fight would be over soon. But then eight hours passed and she didn't know what to think anymore.

"Daddy's not here," Sam mumbled as she held her daughter. "He'll be back later."

Danny had to be the most stubborn boy she'd ever met. He would come back no matter what...unless something happened to him. Sam tried not to fear the worst, but it had been a very long time. The worst she wanted to believe was that he'd gone out to fight a ghost, chased it too far, and had gotten lost somewhere outside the city.

"He'll be back..." she repeated quietly to herself.

**A/N**

**HA! YES! 3,030 words NOT including this A/N. Well, what do you think? Like it? I thought the story was getting a little too...I dunno, slow...? I can't really find the right word for it. Not boring but just not as actiony or something. You get the point. I thought I'd spice it up by having the Guys In White come in. Fight scenes have been left out as it is, but hopefully this caught your attention a little. :/ Those of you who have read FWB (I'm hoping that's all of you) know how bad I am at fight scenes, so if you see a crappy fight scene later on...just try to use your imagination to make it look better.**

**Most of you thought the story was getting kind of dull, kind of like the same routine with Danny being sweet and all, so I hope you see how your reviews affect what happens with the story. You tell me what you want. I make it happen. That's the connection between reviewers and authors (I'd say readers but most readers don't review so I can't tell what they're thinking). You guys told me you wanted something not-so-dull, so I added in a little suspense.  
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**Okay, so now that you've seen me rant, I'll just get on with the review quota. Two hundred and two (202) reviews.  
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**Review reply time:  
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**_Looka'sMagicHell_- :) Yeah I thought so too! I dunno why it's epic but okay. A few action chappies, comin' up!  
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**_Harmony's Entropy_- I know, right! :D  
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**_Lucifers . Angel . 93_- Sorry about your name. :/ FF counts it as a website cuz of all the periods so I have to space it. I think I had the same problem in FWB. I decided on suspense, I hope that's okay. XD Oh, you are the only one to ask about Tuck's lady friend. Here I was starting to think no one cared. ;) TRUST ME, there will be quite a bit of...*mumbles*...going on soon enough thanks to his lady friend. I'm definitely looking forward to writing that chapter. It'll be coming up soon enough, so keep an eye out. 'Til then, enjoy. Oh, no, it wasn't pointless! :D I sincerely thank you for it. Gave me insight on what you want and how you feel. Very important. ;)  
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**_BrittneyluvsChrist_- Merry Christmas! :D Don't worry, there's gonna be more romance and fluff. But for now, everyone's right...this story is toning down a little too much. It'll be pretty easy to lose interest if this keeps up and I don't want that. It sucks when you have high expectations of a story and suddenly it bombs on you. I know, I've been there. -_- Not fun. So I'll make sure not to keep it this low. But still, rest assured, there'll be more romance/fluff/and... ;) maybe even little surprises thrown in there.  
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**_Zinnia99_- Thanks. :)  
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**_Sammi_- lol I'm glad you do. :) I had fun writing it.  
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**_TheNinjaKitty13_- Yeah, I had to look it up. Thanks! :)  
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**_Inuyuke_- I'm glad someone notices the character development. I was beginning to think I'd done all that for nothing and that I should turn back to the original "developments". Thanks! :D Yeah, I wanted to show everyone that Danny's no longer the same boy he used to be. He's still a teenager though-he's seventeen now. You'll be able to tell if you keep up with the time skips I sometimes post. I have no choice but to portray them that way! :D They're so cute! There'll be more romance, believe you me, but for now I need to crank it up a little.  
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**_AwesomeMan327_- Aw, thanks. :) No, he won't. In the epilogue of FWB, I stated specifically that he wouldn't appear again. He'd be mentioned, but he'd never make another appearance and I stated why: he brought up too much angst and this story isn't about angst anymore, even though there'll be some in it. It has no specific genre since it shows Danny and Sam's (and everyone else's) future together. Danny almost kills him in the epilogue. **

**_HeroAce_- Thanks. :) In a somewhat passive way, they're getting what was coming to them. They're DESPERATE for information and as you can see, not being able to get it is driving them crazy. Hm...I've completely forgotten about Dash. :/ Darn it. I'll put him in, but not right now. Well, that's not true. I'm terrible at fight scenes, so I never write them out very often, but I've stated at least three times that he's been fighting ghosts just like he usually does. I think I only mention it in Sam's perspective, I'm not entirely sure. -_- But I guess that's what you get for writing all these chapters (for two stories).  
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**_Thunber_- Hey, review away, my friend! I love reading reviews! lol Yeah, seriously, the ONE argument Danny wins. No, Sam only told Maddie. Maddie promised not to tell anyone else. So only she knows about it (aside from Danny and Tucker of course). Trust me, I have twists galore coming up, but not yet. Funny thing about twists, even though they seem unexpected, you have to time it right so they seem unexpected. :P Makes no sense unless you're a twister writer. I honestly don't know what you mean by "change between the right moments". I say this out of pure curiosity, but could you explain what you mean by that?  
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**_kollen_- Ah, so many questions. Heh, the girl Tucker likes will be the girl you LEAST expect, maybe even an OC. It'll be the biggest twist in this story! ;) Sorry but...the other questions I can't really answer. I'm not one for spoilers. Thank you. And you're welcome. :D  
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**_SkyeoftheNight_- Hm...I think I remember you from FWB... I will, in time. I can't tell who Tuck likes right now, but it'll be revealed in time. And when it is...wo-ho-ho! ;D  
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**_PlasticPencils_- Yeah, I read it. It was good, and you already have fans. :) And the challenge...it'll be interesting. lol I know what you mean...I think. We don't always think alike, you're just crazy. XD  
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**_Sunshine-Midnight123_- :D Hey! Long time no see! He's always super sweet with her. :3 I wuv them as a couple.  
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**_ChristinCC_- It's fine. :) I don't know how I chose 'dove' for Sam, of all people, but I got in my head and I couldn't get it out. The original idea was for Danny to eventually stop calling her that, but I chose to dump that idea and keep the name. A little reminder of crazy Danny is much needed in the sequel. XD I figured after everything they've been through and after all the time they've spent together, everything was all set for a more physical relationship.  
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**_DXSGirl123_- I HAD to do that. I hate Paulina, thought it was time she left poor Sam alone and get told off by the boy who became one of the hottest guys in the school. XD  
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**_sammansonrepilica_- Thanks. :D  
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**_AJ_- Bookmarks...follows or favorites? And thanks. :) I'm not always good at humor but I'll see what I can do.  
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**While I have the chance, do you wanna know the real reason Lilith calls Danny 'doddy'? It's because when I was little I called my dad 'doddy'. :)  
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	15. Chapter 15

~Chapter 15~

It was really hard to stand up... It was even harder to stay up, even when on both your two feet. All _fours_ was hard! How was he supposed to know they had a gravity trigger? And all to test his strength as a ghost, something which, in their eyes, seemed to have no true form. He had a true form! How the heck else would he have been forced to stay in that rope. Which, by the way, was still on him. This made standing even harder to do. And if he wanted to get down on all fours, only his butt would be sticking up. His face on the other hand would be stuck to the floor. How nice.

The gravity increased and his body felt heavier than it ever had before. He tried to keep his knees in line, straight so the bones would hold his legs up. He felt like he cold fall down any second now. It sounded like a good idea since he wanted to get out of here so badly, but in truth, it was a bad idea. They knew he was strong than this. He defeated Pariah Dark, ruler of all ghosts; surely a little gravitation pull wouldn't bring him to his knees.

He strained and grunted as the gravity increased again. Government facilities sucked...

He was tempted to tell them he had a family he needed to get back to. Only problem with that was, they might try to find that family. It would put Sam and the twins, as well as any others whom they thought could be related to him, in danger of undergoing these same tests. Or possibly different ones. They would know Sam was human. Full human. A human and a ghost together...now there was something you didn't see every day. They would get curious, wanting to know more about all this. And the twins...what kind of tests would they run on the twins? A human-ghost hybrid. Or rather, two of them. Another strange occurrence they would want to look into.

The gravity increased again.

* * *

><p>"Sam," a feminine voice cooed throughout Danny's room.<p>

The goth turned around, her daughter sitting quietly beside her foot. It was Jazz. There was no doubt it was about Danny. She likely didn't believe the whole 'Tucker study night' thing. And that was understandable considering Danny never had sleepovers. Especially not with other guys.

"Can we talk for a second?" she asked.

Sam nodded. "Sure."

The red-haired teen looked down at Lilith, then at a sleeping Danny Junior, and then back at Sam. "The twins aren't Danny's are they?"

"What? Of course they are. Why else would they call him 'Daddy'...or...'Doddy'?," she said, correcting herself at the end.

"Does Danny know they aren't his?" she asked, completely ignoring Sam's comment.

Sam scoffed, pretending to be offended. "They _are_ his!"

The goth knew this day was coming. Jack, unsurprisingly, still hadn't figured it out. But Jazz...she'd probably known for awhile now, ever since the twins' hair color started to show. Now she was getting the wrong idea, the same one Maddie had when she first found out. No one ever seemed to suspect that there was a different reason the babies existed. No one ever seemed to want to give her the benefit of the doubt. In fact, no one even had doubts. They only had surefire ideas, ones that cornered Sam unless she told them the truth. Suddenly their ideas weren't surefire but they gave Sam the pity she wanted to avoid. Attention because of the babies was one thing, but attention concerning her rape was another. It was all, "I'm sorry, Sam!" and, "Are you okay?"

Only Danny was allowed to say that to her. He was there, he took care of her, and most importantly, he was the first to know about this. She'd needed him more than she thought. Now that she had him, and now that he had her, she let him say and do whatever he wanted. He had rights to his opinion. He held up every promise he made, including the ones she didn't remember. He deserved to be able to talk to her about anything. So...she let him.

And he was allowed to pity her, as long as he kept it within certain boundaries. She didn't think he pitied her anymore. Felt bad about what happened, maybe, but not pity in itself. Bottom line, Danny was the only person she would ever be comfortable with knowing her secrets and thoughts.

"There's nobody with dark brown hair in our family, and I've seen yours. Your family doesn't have dark brown hair either. Whose are they?" Jazz inquired.

Her family...? _Her_ family? _Her_ family might as well have ceased to exist. She could've said they didn't matter anymore, but that would be a lie. Her 'nonexistent' family had thrown her out for good, kind of like trash. Only they missed the trash can.

"I don't know," she muttered, awaiting the same reaction from Danny's sister as with his mother.

She looked away, but still felt Jazz's gaze. The girl could always look straight at people and see through their souls. It was a very creepy gift she possessed. And it was making Sam uncomfortable... _Very_ uncomfortable...

"You know, I never thought you were the type to be sleeping with a bunch of other guys. You shouldn't have done that. Danny didn't deserve it," the girl finally said.

And voila. There it was, the ol' 'sleeping with everyone' assumption. Honestly...was it too hard to give her a chance to explain herself? Or at least come up with a cover? And where the heck was Danny? She needed him in more than one way now. But she shook the thought out of her head. That was selfish. Danny could be anywhere, doing anything. Maybe he finally left... Lilith was getting to be such a picky eater and Junior was probably the messiest baby on the face of the Earth... Maybe it had become too much work for him, and he left.

No...no, she had to remind herself that just like she wanted the benefit of the doubt, Danny also would want it. It was just her mind starting to get paranoid now that he'd been gone for so long. He would come back...hopefully.

"Sam?" Jazz said, snapping her fingers a few times. She sounded irritated. Actually, she sounded a little beyond irritated.

She took a breath. "They aren't his. He knows that."

"Then why did you tell him to help you raise them? It would different if he was the dad, but since he's not it's like you-"

"Jazz!" Sam barked. "I never told him to do anything. When he found out I was pregnant, he told me he would help me. I told him he could leave if and when he wanted."

"He only did that because he's a nice guy. You have to tell him to stop," Jazz said, almost in a demanding tone.

She _did_ have a good point there. Danny was nice. In some ways, too nice. He'd never do anything to hurt anyone unless it had to be done. And since Sam was his best friend, and now his girlfriend, it was possible that he couldn't turn down her cry for help. And he'd stay with her because of that promise he made.

"You can still stay here, but you have to stop making Danny-"

"I'm not making him do anything, Jazz, that's what you seem to keep missing. He _chose_ to play daddy; I had nothing to do with that."

"This isn't fair to him," she stated firmly.

The goth wanted to glare at her...but...she couldn't. She was right. Danny really didn't deserve this. He didn't do anything wrong. Plus, he was a superhero. He had enough to keep him busy by protecting the city, hiding his identity, and trying to keep up with his schoolwork. How was it fair to him if she kept these expectations of him staying with her and the twins for the rest of his life? Yes, she was his girlfriend, and maybe he wanted the twins, but she was holding him back. Dragging him down. He already had so much to do and... She sighed. And she needed to stop expecting _anything_ from him. She owed him, not the opposite. And with two babies, time management became that much harder. She really was just slowing him up.

"Just...just don't say I slept with someone else," the goth grumbled.

* * *

><p>He had to get back somehow. How long were these tests going to last, anyway? He'd already been out cold for eight consecutive hours. How much time did the tests he'd already taken use up? Everyone was probably worried, probably trying to find him.<p>

Another blast rippled across his shield. The echo could be heard from the inside. It was like a portable ghost shield, only without the same strength. If they just wanted to find out how he worked, then why not interrogate him or something? He was a good ghost, he would comply! He would tell them what they needed to know! Of course, only on grounds that he would be set free after they had their fill of information.

* * *

><p>"Well, Sam, you <em>did<em> sleep with someone else. And not knowing who the real father is tells me you slept with more than one person," Jazz continued.

"I didn't sleep with multiple people, I-"

"So then it was a stranger?"

The goth kept her mouth quiet for a moment. Jazz was finally on the right track here. That man was, in fact, a stranger. And he wasn't 'multiple people'.

"Danny told me it didn't count as sleeping with somebody," she muttered in her own defense.

"How else are babies made?" Jazz combated.

Well. That answered _that_ question. Danny was wrong, she'd had sex with that man. Just not willingly. But apparently that didn't matter, now did it? Of course not. No one would understand. It was just impossible; people would forever assume that she was one of those girls who would do anything for sex. That's what Maddie thought. And now that Jazz was assuming the same thing...well...it started to bring up doubts. She should've just taken the busy path. She'd have to fight her way through a crowd of people, but at least there would be someone there to help her...unlike the solitary route she'd chosen to take so long ago.

But...Jazz didn't even know what she was talking about. Jazz wasn't there when Danny was. She never stuck by Sam's side like Danny did. In fact, only Danny knew all that had happened. Him...and only him. There was no person better suited to keep her secrets than the halfa, whether he was Fenton or Phantom. Bottom line, Danny knew everything and it would stay that way. If he was willing to reveal his secret to keep hers, then he deserved to have her love and the twins' love.

Sam smirked with that thought. "Get back to me when you know."

Jazz frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You obviously don't know everything. And you know what? That's fine. You can think what you want," she replied. "Because the only opinion that matters is Danny's. If you don't know what really happened, you don't have a right to an opinion. So for now, your opinion, your thoughts, don't count."

Jazz turned around and left. Sam didn't know whether or not the girl was upset or offended, but it was true. Jazz couldn't give her input if she didn't know what she was talking about. And the goth knew Jazz wasn't going to go 'tell on her'. Just like the time when she first found out about Sam's pregnancy, she wouldn't go crying to Mommy.

* * *

><p>So...wow. There really was an interrogation part of all this. Interesting.<p>

"So, _punk_," the agent spat out, "what does it feel like when you pass through solid objects?"

He smiled, trying to be the hero type, the kind of person people look up to. "Tingly. You can feel it pass through you, kind of like air-"

"You can feel air?" the man interrupted.

"Sure. Ghosts can feel just like you can," he said.

"That's impossible..." the man muttered. "Ghosts are dead! They don't have bodies, let alone nerve endings!"

Danny sighed. "Um, we _do_ have bodies. How else can I still be in this stupid rope if I don't have a body?"

"Moving on," he abruptly declared. "Whenever you use any form of ectoplasmic energy, can you feel an inner working?"

The halfa snorted. "An inner working? What the heck is that?"

"Do you feel anything inside you? Something that tells you you're using that energy?" the man corrected.

"Uh...well, when I sense another ghost, my breath gets chilly. Does that count?"

The agent slapped his forehead but wrote it down anyway. "What about when you fly?"

"Light, kinda like my body is about as heavy as a feather," he answered.

The man muttered something incomprehensible under his breath. He quickly jotted something down and looked back up at the halfa. His expression was difficult to make out thanks to his dark glasses, but if those glasses were off, he would probably look mad. But it wasn't like Danny could do anything about it. They wanted answers, he was giving them answers. And they were legitimate answers, too! It wasn't easy to describe what he felt. There wan no real inner working, no blood rush or strange feeling inside him to tell him he was using a power. He just...knew.

"Okay," the man continued, "how do you turn invisible at will?"

Danny looked up at the ceiling. That...had to be the hardest question ever. "I dunno. I just...do it."

The man threw his hands up in the air. "Even teenage _ghosts_...!"

The halfbreed laughed. "I take it you don't have kids."

"Just... Agh!" The man growled before taking a deep breath. "Let's just move on to the next test, get this over with..."

Danny smiled. It was about time. Last test, hopefully. But hey, there couldn't possibly be many more left, assuming this wasn't the last one. And knowing the Guys In White...it probably wasn't. But then again, maybe it was. Hopefully it was. He hoped Sam wasn't worried about him. These tests had been hard on him, and pretty exhausting, especially considering how much blood...or ectoplasm, whichever...they'd taken from him. He would be tired when he got home. And he'd been gone so long, there was no doubt she was worried. And Tucker...she had definitely already called Tucker. No one had seen him. No one knew where he was at. No one knew what was happening to him. And no one knew if he was ever coming back. But he was. Eventually. Once these idiots got what they wanted...

* * *

><p>"Doddy!" Lilith cried, wondering where her dad was and frantically trying to find him. "Where Doddy?!"<p>

Sam knelt down and pulled her daughter closer to her, telling her to be quiet. Junior would wake up if his sister wouldn't be quiet. And if both the twins were up... Oh...man. Not good. Definitely not good.

"Daddy's coming back," Sam said. Whether she was talking to herself or Lilith was unknown.

"Where Doddy?"

"He went out, honey. He'll be back," the goth cooed.

"Where go Doddy?" she asked, this time softly and not loud at all.

"He..." Sam stopped. Lilith was just a baby, how was she supposed to understand that her mommy didn't know where her daddy went? "He...went to...uh, the store. He'll be back."

"Doddy be back," she repeated.

Sam let her daughter go and stood up, looking out the window. It was still dark. And darkness symbolized death. She knew this. She was a goth. Red, blood. Gray, misery. Black...death. Danny went away at a time when blackness ruled. It was still nothing but blackness out there...and he still hadn't come back.

"Danny..." she whispered, tears forming in her eyes. "Danny...you better come back..."

**A/N**

**Ooooohhh! XD Nice little chapter ending, huh? Go on, hate me all you want. :D**

**This was slightly shorter (still 3,000+ words not including this A/N) than last chapter but I think it portrays some significance and if you can interpret it, foreshadowing. I'm very interested to see what you think will happen in the next chapter. ;)**

**As you should know by reading FWB, the moon flower scene had a big impact on the story. I feel like it shouldn't be left out in this story, so I want you to tell me whether you think I should leave it alone or include at least one scene taking place in the moon flower meadow. If you decide you want a scene there, I already have one planned out so it won't take up any time, which means no waiting for me to think up of a scene. And the role it will play will be a big one, so choose wisely because that scene is a kind of make-or-break deal. You could decide whether it's a fan favorite or if I should try to put in a different scene to replace the meadow scene, which could also turn out to be a fan favorite. Either way that chapter will be one of my best chapters. I hope. If you don't feel like reviewing, you can PM me. Either way, I would really like EVERYONE to tell me what they want because these votes are tallied. If you want something, make sure you tell me or else it might not happen.**

**Thank you all so much for your reviews! :) You really have no clue how much they mean to me!**

**I'll bump the bar to two hundred twenty-six (226) reviews.  
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**And now the review replies:  
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**_Inuyuke_- lol Niiiiice... XD Even Lilith, huh? Yeah, sorry for the wait. Little slow here now that I'm preparing for a ton of tests AND a cow eye dissection. Ew.  
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**_AJ_- I'll keep posting til it's done. :) And it's awesome that you're so into this story.  
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**_BrittneyluvsChrist_- Thanks! :D I work hard to do that. And it was good, how was yours?  
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**_Favorite Daughter Of Hades_- Oh, I know. :3 I love making people hate me for that. Muahaha... Yeah, I love making her do that. Too sweet!  
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**_HeroAce_- A lot of people have been confused about the shadow guy. The shadow was Sam's imagination, nothing more. Yeah, don't worry. The popular kids are starting to really get annoying and that's what matters...for now.  
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**_I'm . Only . Human . Dude_- He is. :D And they're sweet with him in a baby-ish way.  
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**_Looka'sMagicHell_- XD Danny + mad ninja skills = EPIC.  
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**_Zinnia99_- Baby girl is so sweet. :) Wow, one of your favorites? I'm flattered. And honored, really.  
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**_GeminiCrystal_- :3 Coooot.  
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**_kollen_- I sure hope it's getting good. Cuz honestly I'm making this up as I go along.  
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**_Sammi_- Spoiler Alert: They'll know what happened a little later on. Yeah no kidding.  
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**_sammansonrepilica_- At first the GIW weren't going to get him but then I'm like, what the heck, I'll just throw 'em in there. XD  
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**_TheNinjaKitty13_- I know, don't you just love me? (Don't answer that.) XP Sorry about the wait.  
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**_puppets4ever_- Well if you don't update your story, no one will know about it. That might be why it hasn't gotten a review. Good luck though. :)  
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**_Revengerz_- Sir, yes sir!  
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**_averypottermormon_- Wow, thank you. :) And sorry 'bout the wait.  
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**_Thunber_- :3 I never said he was gonna get away. Oooooh, okay. Thanks for explaining that. :) lol Yeah that' would be funny. It's a potential idea right now, not sure if I'll use it.  
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**_Sunshine-Midnight123_- Thanks. And thanks again. :D  
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**_ChristinCC_- XD What the heck? Finally got smart? Poor Danny, you just hurt his feelings.  
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**_lilyt789_- lol Sounds like you're into it. :) Thank you.  
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	16. Chapter 16

~Chapter 16~

Danny grunted as the needle was pulled from his neck. _How_ could there have been a mix-up in the lab?! And he hadn't yet recovered from the previous vampire session. To make things worse, he was still going to be tested. He wanted to get back to his family and make sure they were okay. What if a ghost had escaped from the portal? It would be loose in the house! And with the twins...and they were so young and defenseless... He took a breath, remembering that Sam, Jazz, and his parents were there. Jazz wasn't much of a fighter, but she had the smarts to form a plan in case it was a powerful ghost. Sam knew where the Fenton thermos was; she could grab it and go if she needed to. His mom was a top-notch ghost hunter and knew exactly what she was doing. His dad...uh...well...yeah.

It was a comforting thought to know that if something happened to him, such as an accident during a test-or, as he recalled the agents telling him, a termination-his family would be safe. That was what mattered most to him. Maybe it was just because he was a hero. Maybe it was because he was a dad. He'd matured enough to understand these things now. Things that he didn't know when he was fourteen.

They took him into another room, one with a desk. There was a machine behind it with cords and what he assumed to be electrodes.

He was told to sit in the chair. He sat, feeling lightheaded from the loss of ectoplasm. One of the three agents who had escorted him here tore open little holes in his clothes, so the ends of the electrodes could be taped onto his skin. None of them were on his face, neck, or shoulders. The tape itself didn't hurt. The electrodes themselves didn't hurt. That is, until the test started. First he heard a buzz. The machine was being turned on. One of the agents walked around to the back of the chair. Another got in position to monitor him. The third stood sturdily in front of the door, guarding it in case he attempted to escape.

He heard a flick of a switch from behind him, where the machine was. He felt nothing though. The second switch was flipped. This time there was a strange, almost itchy sensation. With the next switch came a tingly feeling on his skin, only in the places where the electrodes had been attached. The fourth switch brought on a small pinch. The fifth, a harder pinch. The sixth, a sharp pain. The seventh, a sharper pain. It was enough to make him cringe. The eighth, a sensation that felt like a knife almost breaching his skin. The ninth, a severe pain flowing from and out of where the electrodes were. It made him jerk.

"What is this supposed to do?!" he shouted before another switch was flipped. A very sharp, longer-lasting-than-the-others pain spread throughout most of his body.

"It's electricity," the man behind him answered.

"You're electrocuting me?"

The man at the door smiled. The man behind him said, "Sort of. It may be painful, but it's not deadly. We want to see how ghosts react to large amounts of electricity."

Another switch. Danny grunted and started to struggle a little bit. "We react just like you do!"

No answer. Another switch.

* * *

><p>"Look, Sam," Jazz's voice rang.<p>

Sam had refused to come out of Danny's room. Well, technically it was a shared room now, but she still thought of it as his. Right now she liked thinking it was his. It let her feel closer to him...wherever he was.

"Yeah?"

Jazz sighed. "I'm sorry."

Sam's head shot up and she turned from the window, which she'd been staring at in hopes of seeing a white-haired ghost with catlike green eyes fly by. "Huh?"

The older teen looked down and took a deep breath before continuing. "I'm sorry for how I treated you earlier. I was just upset."

"It's not like you to admit you're wrong," Sam pointed out.

Jazz looked back up at her. "I know. Listen...the more I think about what you said to me, about me not knowing anything, the more I get the feeling you're hiding something."

Sam felt her heart do a lovely little acrobatic flip. "I-I'm not _hiding_ anything, really. It's just...some things are better left unsaid."

"Yeah. Some things are."

Jazz continued staring her down. The girl could see into people's souls, read their minds, sense their aura! She was like a psychic! A strange, yet incredibly bright psychic! And she wouldn't let up until Sam told her everything. And sadly, this girl knew when someone was lying to her and when they were telling the truth. There was no getting out of this. Why did she have to be this way?!

Sam threw her hands in the air, surrendering herself to this situation. "Alright. You have me figured out. I...sort of slept with someone else."

"That's not all."

Turning back to the window, Sam found it a tad easier to continue. Now that she wasn't facing Jazz, things could be better. Plus, she could still keep an eye out for Danny.

"No. It's not," the goth gave. "I...I don't know who I slept with."

"Party?"

Sam shook her head. "I wish. I can't remember him."

"Drunk?"

Well, actually, yes. At one point when she'd _supposedly_ taken her shirt off in front of Danny and called him sexy. But she wasn't drunk any of the three times she'd been attacked.

"No... Can you keep a secret?" the goth asked, not taking her eyes off the window for a second.

"I've been keeping Danny's for a long time now. But it depends. Is it good or bad?"

"Depends on what you consider 'bad'," Sam said. "I seriously don't want anyone to know about this. They'll get the same idea you did."

For a second, Jazz didn't reply...didn't even respond. Sam assumed she was trying to make up her mind about whether she could keep a secret or not. Danny's secret was huge and she'd been keeping it for some time, yet all of a sudden that which, by any other person, would be considered a less significant secret was too much to handle? It was absurd! And kind of offensive...

"Fine," Jazz said at last.

She sighed. Telling Jazz while facing a window was...surprisingly easy for some reason. "Okay. This goes way back, even before I found out I was pregnant. I was walking home from school when I got jumped by a man I didn't know. Three weeks later, Danny came to check on me. I was upset, I told him what happened, and he brought up the idea that I might be pregnant and got me some tests. The first two I took were negative and I thought I was fine, but then I had symptoms of pregnancy, I took a third test, and it was positive. Danny covered for me by saying he was the dad and everyone believed him. When I told my parents I was pregnant with Danny's kid they kicked me out. I got jumped again by the same man in an alley beside my house...my old house," she corrected, "and Danny found me. He brought me here and told me I could stay. He told me he wanted to help me raise the baby."

Deciding it was best if she left out everything that happened at Other Ways, she threw in a little time skip. "After about three and a half months we found out that the baby turned out to be babies. Danny said he was fine with twins. And he's been helping me raise them ever since they were born. He's even told me he wants to be their father."

Sam waited for a reply.

It didn't take long before one came. "I'm so sorry, Sam... I...I had no idea... I wish I could've been there-"

"To help?" The goth cut her off. "It's the same thing Danny said when I told him what happened."

"Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"Because..." She faltered. Because what? She'd been scared, ashamed, weak. She got depressed, started cutting because of it, and wound up in a hospital. Two hospitals actually, if one counted Other Ways. But there was one thing she didn't want... "...I don't like the pity."

"Maybe that's true, but there's something else, isn't there? Something deeper," Jazz replied.

She sighed. _Of course_ the psychologically-obsessed person in the household would guess the truth about this. "Yeah. It was embarrassing. And...I didn't want to admit I was so defenseless."

"Why were you so ashamed? It's not your fault," the red-haired teen said.

"Again, same thing Danny said," she pointed out. "But the truth is, I could've prevented this. All I had to do was take a different path home, and none of this would've ever happened."

Jazz thought for a second before asking, "Did Danny ever tell you how badly he blamed himself for that? And for everything else that happened to you?"

"No...he didn't..." Sam thought aloud.

Jazz began to explain. "I only realized it after he came back from Other Ways. He got mad at himself-_really_ mad-and threw the pamphlet across his room. Then he punched a pillow but it wasn't enough. When I finally opened the door and came in, he was shaking and crying. He didn't know what to do. He was really worried about you. He was so angry with himself that he was convinced it was all his fault. Even today, I think he still blames himself. He loves you, always has and always will. I bet when he found out you were raped-"

"Twice," Sam confessed, cutting her off at the perfect time to finish her sentence. "The first time was when we found out I was pregnant. But there was a second time when Danny found me out in a really bad storm. And until now, only he knew. But being as you tend to manipulate people into telling you more than they want to, I thought I would go ahead and tell you now so I wouldn't have to deal with it later. _Don't_ tell _anyone_."

"Okay, I won't. And thank you for entrusting me with-"

"I didn't entrust you with anything. You would've found out sooner or later. It's the only reason I told you. And another thing...don't tell Danny you know about this. I hate talking about it and it'll just bring up a conversation."

"Done and done. I swear I won't tell a soul," Jazz promised, holding one hand to her chest and another up in the air.

Sam nodded her head and for the millionth time, scanned the city skyline thoroughly. As expected, no hint of Danny. Again she tried to believe he'd simply gotten lost while chasing off a ghost. But he had gone out of his way to get back to her before, and he would do it again no doubt. Well, there was no doubt in the fact that he would try to come back. There was a ton of doubt about whether or not he could _make_ it back though.

* * *

><p>The only real thing he suffered from that stupid test was fuzzy hair. Looked kind of like someone rubbed his head with a supercharged balloon. And here people said hat hair was bad... Thankfully it wasn't so bad. If his life was a sitcom, he'd have been zapped every other episode. He'd gotten used to it after a certain amount of time.<p>

As he was being led out of the room, he heard through the open door two men walking up to each other. One of them was mumbling, so hearing him was pretty much pointless. However, the second man didn't mumble at all. He wasn't loud, granted, but he wasn't soft either. And Danny was glad he could hear him. There was important news he needed to know coming from that man's mouth.

"We found something interesting you might want to know about," the man said.

He was shoved out the door and into the pure white hallway, where they would either subject him to another test or finally set him free. He stopped for a moment, and surprisingly the guard behind him allowed him to stay put, and he could clearly hear the rest of the conversation.

"What's that?" the guard asked.

The first man looked-probably seriously, considering those glasses blocked almost all expressions-at the guard; the second man followed this action.

"That ghost kid you're escorting," the first man began, again soft-spoken, "isn't all ghost. He doesn't take on the _form_ of a human, he _is_ a human."

The guard almost laughed, smiling in disbelief. "Humans can't turn into ghosts."

"Well this one can. He's only half ghost. His DNA proves his other half is human," the first man said, clarifying any suspicions the guard had. He quickly added, "A _living_ human."

"This is preposterous. Do you even hear yourselves? If he's really half human then he would..." The guard's eyes widened and he looked at Danny in shock. "Then he...would have to have a family..."

"Exactly. And in order to be half ghost, one parent would be a ghost and the other human," the second man told them both.

The first man turned to Danny. "We've figured out who you are. Now you're going to tell us where your family is, or else we'll find out ourselves. I doubt you'll want that."

The halfa's eyes widened. They weren't kidding. Even though they were wrong about his parents, they would go to the ends of the Earth trying to reveal who brought him into this world. Even his friends would suffer from this. And worse...if they found his parents, they would find Sam. If they found Sam, they would find the twins. If they found the twins it was all over. Something would happen, he just knew it. He couldn't let anything happen to anyone. He'd rather die the most horrible death than let them be discovered.

It was utter betrayal to tell them anything about his family. "I haven't seen them in years, don't have a clue where they're at."

"You're too young to have left your family behind, if you really are half human," the guard pointed out, gripping the back of the rope tightly to prevent any attempts to escape.

They already had his DNA to confirm that he was indeed a halfa. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't argue with them. He had to face facts, they'd figured him out. And all with a needle, too. Which kinda sucked considering he didn't need to go through those tests to begin with.

"I won't tell you anything," he spat. "You can do whatever you want to me, but leave them alone."

"We can't do that. How do we know you haven't already bred, what with your teenage hormones and such?" Wow...that had to be the most uncomfortable question ever. Technically he was raising kids but he never 'bred'. That was just uncalled for. And really, really mortifying.

"I don't even have a girlfriend!" he lied.

"And what reason can you give us to believe you?" the first man asked, this time speaking up. "How can we know you're telling the truth?"

Danny struggled in his rope, testing it to see if there was any loose spot, any possible way to somehow squirm out and free himself. But there wasn't. Even with the guard holding it, the rope was still too tight to escape. Plus, there were agents crawling all over the place like disgusting little cockroaches. It seemed like an impossible place to get out of unless they let him. Another thing that sucked...

"Just leave them alone! Please! They didn't do anything wrong!" he pleaded.

The guard let go of the rope and pushed him forward which he tried to resist. It only made him fall to the ground.

"They've been harboring you this whole time. They've hidden you from the government for too long now. We can't take any chances," the first man explained, forming a line in the middle of the guard and second man.

The guard pulled him up. He wanted to keep resisting them, he really did, but it was impossible. They knew he was half human. They knew he had a family. They knew his family had protected him all this time. He had to get back to them somehow. At first, time was nothing. They would've let him out anyway. But now time was everything. They never said they knew what he looked like, they only said they knew he was human. It wasn't enough information to catch him once he got out of this place.

His eyebrows furrowed. No. He had worked way too hard to be cooped up in some government facility that was now threatening everyone he loved. By refusing his freedom, they refused his cooperation. Now they were about to see what a breeding human-ghost freak could really do, powers or not.

**A/N**

**Sorry about the delay, guys. :( We don't know what's causing them, but I've been having really strange, sudden, and frequent dizzy spells. They can last hours and are so bad that I won't be able to see the letters on the keyboard. The only way I can describe it is this: a rocket taped to a merry-go-round. Again, we don't know why I have them or what triggers them, but if this keeps up I'll have to go to a hospital. So please, PLEASE forgive the slow update and perhaps the next chapter's delay (hopefully there won't be one, or at least as long and update as this one). And if I have to go to a hospital because of these dizzy spells, then it means a slower update for the next chapter. I am so sorry, guys, but I have no idea what's going on with me. Again, I'm really sorry about the slow update and maybe the slow update of next chapter. **

**I'm starting to feel a little dizzy already, and it'll turn bad soon, so no review quota and no review replies. :( I won't be starting on the next chapter anytime tonight. I seriously can't tell you how sorry I am. D:**


	17. Chapter 17

~Chapter 17~

Danny angrily looked the guard in the eye. It almost seemed to scare him and he stopped walking, holding up the small line consisting of two people behind him. Powers, no powers, what did it matter? Danny was Danny, that was that. And he was a threat no matter Fenton or Phantom. Why? Because he had a cocktail of adrenaline, desperation, and above all, motivation. He _needed_ his family and he _needed_ to know they were safe. This entire branch of the government had now entered his bad list, which was something no one should ever want to do.

They wanted tests? They wanted to find out more about him? Fine then. Time for a little demonstration of a ghost-human's youthful rebellion.

* * *

><p>Lilith finally went to sleep. It was morning, unfortunately, and Danny was still nowhere to be found. For a very long time, at least a year and a half actually, Sam had thought of the twins as the rapist's and the rapist's only. But back then she was blind. Now she saw what a father really was. Biologically, they didn't belong to Danny. But truthfully, they were his. Biological parents didn't determine parenthood at all. That was why adoption existed. Danny had adopted these twins before they even came into the world. He loved them beyond words and treated them like his own, almost as if he couldn't tell the difference. Danny was a father. No...he was a dad. Well, okay <em>eventually<em> he would be a dad. Right now he was a doddy.

And unlike most guys, Danny didn't have much of a problem taking care of the twins. Not to say that he liked changing diapers or getting food flung all over him, but he didn't mind being busy. Sometimes he was the one to rock them to sleep so she could take a break. And when the twins got up, most of the time it was him to get them. He fed them dinner and actually liked it...until one of them spit out their food. He also really liked playing with them. No one was quite like mommy, but the twins were all over doddy when he got home from school. Since they could walk now, they would run up to his legs and prevent him from walking. He was forced to hold his heavy backpack for that much longer.

Eventually he would be able to walk...but only with them riding his feet.

He thoroughly enjoyed being a father. It wasn't always fun, and it was tough, but he was happy. These twins were his whole world. He would sacrifice anything and everything to make sure everyone was safe.

She frowned. That fact alone...that he would sacrifice anything and everything. Even himself. He would give his own life to protect them. No, he couldn't be dead. He couldn't be! This was Danny, Danny couldn't be dead! And what-?

Ghosts. Valerie. The Guys In White. His parents. There were a lot of people who hated Danny Phantom, swearing he was an evil creature that needed to be exterminated. That just couldn't be right though. No, they never caught him before, never really came close. What was so different this time?

Sam paced the room several times, unwilling to believe he'd sacrificed himself for the sake of her and the twins. And of course, his family too. But especially the twins. If there was anything Sam had learned as a parent, it was that the kids always took priority over the adults. She knew Danny, and knew that he would try to protect everyone, but he was a parent as well. And these twins were his kids. She _wanted_ him to make them top priority. If Danny had to choose between Sam and the twins, she wanted him to choose the twins. It was what every parent wanted, she assumed.

Except hers, apparently. Ugh, why was she even thinking about them? And at a time like this, honestly...! Why was it that they crept into her thoughts at the most random times? Anytime she began to think deeply about the twins or Danny, her parents popped up out of nowhere. It was like one second, the twins were there, and then BAM, her parents.

* * *

><p>He never actually gave thought to what he was doing. All that ran through his mind was thoughts of the twins, Sam, his parents, and Jazz. Even Tucker could be hurt if they got his family. Ironically they could even trace this down to Mr. Lancer.<p>

He quickly turned around, boldly facing the guard. He stood on his toes, succeeding in confusing all the agents in the hall with him.

"I'm not asking," he growled. "I'm _telling_." With that he lurched forward, his head banging hard against the guard's. Being experienced in fighting ghosts, some who used armor or metal weapons, getting hit on the head with a hard material was practically nothing now. The guard fell, knocking the men behind him down like dominoes. It wasn't very hard to jump forcefully on them, making sure they stayed down. And to add to that, they needed to get the message. Hopefully they received it.

He hopped off the last guy and started to run while they were still trying to compose themselves and probably still trying to get up and off one another. The bad news was, he was in a strange place and he couldn't use his ghost powers to escape. It would have to be done the old-fashioned way. But old or new, he still had no clue where he was going nor where an exit might be. All he could do for now was run at top speed until the alarms went off and more agents were sent after him. These idiots would do anything they could now that they knew he was half human.

He could probably get out on his own even without his powers, but he would need his hands. Getting out with just legs and a head wasn't going to be very easy. In fact, it might not even be possible. But then the realization hit him that he didn't need to cut the rope off. The more he fought, the more he struggled...the more the rope would loosen. Even as tight as it was now, it was still just a rope. Yes, it had an anti-ghost coating on it, but it was still just a rope. And it was a really stupid idea on their part to underestimate him. Even stupider to threaten him like they did. It made no sense to give him a _motive_ to beat the snot out of them and break out.

He stopped when holes in the ceiling opened. Red lights dropped down and started flashing. Soon after, an alarm was triggered, screeching horribly in his ears. It echoed through the halls. He could already hear multiple footsteps. It was about time they sent in the reinforcements. Before he could determine which way to go, he took a breath and paused to listen. The footsteps were coming from behind him, meaning he could run left, right, or straight ahead. Thankfully the red flashing lights illuminated each corner and made it easier to see where one hall ended and the other began. He chose to run right.

It was, in a way, fun to tick off the government. But this would only be seen as fun if he wasn't fighting to get back to his family. He had to know they were okay. If worst came to shove, everyone could get away in the Specter Speeder. They could retreat to the Ghost Zone, where they would be safe. Momentarily at least. If he didn't find anyone in the house or lab, he could check the Ghost Zone. He wouldn't even need to look for them; he'd simply turn human, let the real-world item scanner detect him, and wait for Sam to steer up to him. Or at least in his direction where she could find him.

Er...wait...there was just one problem with that little plan. He couldn't turn human. With this rope still clinging to him, he couldn't use any of his ghost powers, which included turning human again. Which meant that although Sam and everyone else could escape, he might not be able to find them if he couldn't get this rope off.

Well...this sucked.

Looking behind him to see if there were any agents in sight, he bumped into a wall he hadn't seen coming. It was a two-way decision. Right or left. He went right last time, so... The halfa gathered his balance and pivoted on his heels, turning left. The footsteps were gaining and worse, they were following him. With a rope restricting you, it wasn't easy to keep good pace. But at least he had one thing going for him: his strength. Ghost fighting had paid off. Now if he needed to knock someone out, he could put them in a headlock with his legs and strangle them until they passed out. It was just getting up that was hard.

* * *

><p>The twins still hadn't stirred, which in a way was great news for Sam. She'd found herself completely unable to sleep before, but now she was utterly drained, both emotionally and physically. She wondered if Danny was tired as well, assuming he was still alive.<p>

But now her eyes were heavy, almost too heavy to lift. For almost three years she'd been unable to sleep unless Danny held her. Now it was just...not right. Those nightmares would come back if not for Danny. But this time the nightmares would be about Danny, about something bad happening to him. It was the last thing she wanted to see. She would much rather relive the worst moment of her life instead of paint out a picture of whatever could've happened to him. It truly terrified her, and as each second passed, she became more and more certain that he wasn't coming back. And if he didn't, the twins would never have a father to look up to.

* * *

><p>As he ran he lowered his head and tried to bite into the rope. No use. Then again, it wasn't exactly like he'd expected it to simply slide off him at the touch of a tooth. Last time he checked, ropes didn't work that way. He needed to find a way to get it off him though. If he managed to find an exit without being caught, then what? If he knew the Guys In White, he was probably on the high floor of a high building. What was he supposed to do, jump and hope he lived? Fighting could be useful only if the rope was loosened because of it. It could also have dire consequences, as he remembered once more the whole 'termination' part of this ordeal. Fighting was a last resort. He needed to find a way to cut it off before they could catch up to him. Only problem was, these halls showed nothing but white and flashing red. They didn't look like they had anything to-<p>

Wait. There was a room somewhere back where he'd come from. It was where the scanner was. Yeah, that one room full of sharp..._stuff_. If he could somehow get back to it, again without being caught, he could use his mouth to grab a scalpel or something and set himself free. After that, it would be smooth sailing. Phase through all the guards and agents, keep phasing through the walls until he reached a way out, and get far away. Then finally, once he was sure they weren't following him, he could go home.

He smiled at that thought. Going home, making sure everyone was safe and sound... They might be a little concerned right now, but rest assured he would get back to them. He already had a plan in mind, and if it worked like he hoped it would, he was practically free.

There was one flaw. Where the _heck_ was that room? Everything was completely white! Sure, he'd been dragged around through these same halls...probably these same halls anyway...but he still didn't have enough time here to memorize all those rooms. He could end up in a janitor's closet! Or worse, the training room, if they had one. They probably had laundry rooms scattered everywhere in the facility. Actually, it would make sense that he'd end up in a janitor's closet. What if the floors got dirty?

He listened closer. There were footsteps coming from in front of him. He would see agents appear any time now. Anytime, but they would be coming either from a left or right hallway. Straight ahead was a wall, so unless they blasted through it, no one would be coming from straight ahead. At least one direction was safe...

"It's like a maze..." he muttered breathlessly.

Since people were coming from in front anyway...

He screeched to a halt, quickly pivoted, and started the other way. Hopefully the way he'd come from was the way that held the room with the sharp stuff in it. Okay, so until he got there-and if he got there-he would have to fight his way through throngs of agents. Just one ghost. Just one! All this fuss over just one ghost! It was crazy, it was really, _really_ crazy. Then again...this was the government.

At least they didn't yet know what his human form looked like, and they also didn't know his last name beyond Phantom. It would likely be the first name they would run through their engine. So let's see... So far they knew he was half human and had a family that was obviously involved with ghosts. They knew him only as Danny Phantom. They didn't know he was Danny Fenton. They didn't know about the accident that made him half ghost and assumed a false idea about his parents. They only knew he had white hair, green eyes, and pale skin. They didn't know of his black hair, blue eyes, and darker-than-a-ghost's skin. They had the knowledge to attempt to find out what his human form looked like, but they didn't have enough knowledge to actually _succeed_ in finding out what his human form looked like. Not yet at least.

One morph was all it took, one mistake was all they needed. And if they managed to weaken him enough without the rope on, he wouldn't be strong enough to hold the transformation, and he would collapse and revert back to his human form. After that it was over, done with. They could test his human DNA and know everything about his biological family. They might be shocked to know his parents were ghost hunters, but everyone would suffer because of him. He couldn't afford a single mistake. He had to get out of here. Now.

* * *

><p>The goth kept drifting in and out of consciousness. She wanted to stay awake for Danny, hoping he would return any second now. Maybe scaring her by phasing through the window or door...something like that. For all she knew he could be right behind her, invisible, ready to yell out once she finally went to sleep. Real sleep, not the dozes she was having right now. If he scared her, she would beat the living daylights out of him. Making her worry all this time only to get a few laughs...he would pay dearly if that was the case.<p>

Deep down she knew he wouldn't do something like that. Sadly she still didn't know, deep down or up top, whether he was _ever_ going to come back. Every passing second seemed to feel like the word 'abandonment' was closing in. Soon, she knew, it would be there to engulf all of them. Thankfully, if he wasn't coming back, the twins would forget. No one else would forget though, no matter how much they wanted to. And when Lilith and Junior were old enough to understand, she would have to break the ice that their father had died when they were babies. Being as they wouldn't remember, they probably wouldn't be very sad about it. That would be a good thing though. Their hearts wouldn't break for their deceased father. They could live life happily and normally, but now with the knowledge about what happened to their father.

* * *

><p>Almost there...almost...just a little more and- Yes! There it was! That had to be it!<p>

Danny bolted towards the door, the one he was sure that held the scalpels and other really scary objects. Ones that, come to think of it, would give them direct access to kill him.

"Nice going," he mumbled breathlessly to himself. "You managed to find the one room in this place that lets them throw pointy things at you..."

He skidded to a halt, again not easy when an anti-ghost rope was tied around you, and used his teeth to turn the doorknob. Human or ghost, using your teeth to do this was incredibly difficult. Especially when you had about a hundred highly trained government agents hot on your tail.

He felt the knob turn and started pushing on it in hopes that he could open the door as rapidly as possible. A soft click was hear after just a second or two and he almost fell sideways as he burst through the door. Yeah, he was right. This was the room, this held all the needles, that one scanner thing they used on him earlier, and scalpels. He rushed toward the first one he saw, be it biggest or smallest, and took it up in his mouth.

He used his tongue to maneuver the little item into a position where he could effectively cut the rope. It was done just like that, in a split second time frame. All he needed to do was position it. Now came the hard part...trying to bed his head far enough downward to reach the rope twines. But before he could do anything else, he closed the door with his shoulder and braced himself against it, acting as a human-er, ghost-barricade. He knew it would never hold long against all those strong men, but he was strong too, and this time he had a family that needed his protection. This time he couldn't afford to lose.

If they started banging on the door, he would likely cut himself with the blade of the scalpel, but at least it would get the rope off. And there was only one reason they would put an anti-ghost rope on him...the walls had no coating. They knew, and now he'd figured it out, that he could easily escape through the walls if the rope came off.

He wasted no time in attempting to saw off the first few twines. It wasn't easy. He probably hadn't picked up the longest scalpel, and therefore had to bend his head even further. To top that, this rope was very thick and strong. It was meant for holding and/or binding powerful things. But it was definitely giving way, and that was good.

He couldn't help but think about the cloths that were on Sam when he found her in that storm. They were actually as strong as, if not stronger than, this rope. He'd never encountered anything that strong before, save for Skulker's nets. This rope was kind of like that, extremely-no, ridiculously-strong. It was still something he could handle but why would they use something like this on him? If they'd simply kept their mouths shut, if only they'd kept from threatening his family, then he wouldn't be trying so hard to get out of here right now. They would've still had his cooperation. He would've still done what they wanted him to do. But now they were going too far. Now they had doomed themselves to be taken as a very serious threat. That...was a big mistake.

As to be expected, the door started wobbling. Danny strained to keep it shut, at least to the point where they couldn't enter the room. Surprisingly enough, he wasn't cutting himself. But...well, that was probably because he had the protection of a thick rope right now. Hopefully he would be near the end soon, and that protection would wear as thin as the rope.

His feet started to lose traction and he began scooting forward as a result. How he managed to keep them out, he didn't know, but he knew he had to start cutting faster. The more he dawdled, the more time was spent giving them an opportunity to end all this once and for all. But now, 'all this' included his entire family. And maybe Tucker.

Ha! Halfway there! Take that, government idiots...

The door lurched forward, almost causing the scalpel to slip out of his mouth. Curse saliva. Thankfully his tongue held it, this time more firmly as it repositioned the little object. The door was opening, and this time he couldn't push it back. There were too many of them...

Three-fourths.

Another squeak as his shoes began to give way to the...probably three?...men repeatedly tackling the only entrance to the room. He was lucky he fought ghosts every day, otherwise they would be too much and he'd have been caught long ago.

Just a little longer...

He tried to put force on his heels. He couldn't afford to lift a foot, otherwise he would be overpowered and lose any chance of liberating himself. The only shot he had was this one scalpel. He couldn't lose it to a door.

And...success. He shrugged the rope off, proud with the knowledge that he could finally see his family again.

He beamed at the thought that for once, he was there for Sam. He didn't fail her like he did the last three times. He _protected_ her this time.

**A/N**

**Guys, I'm really hoping you're reading this... Before I say ANYTHING about the story or reviews or whatever else, I have a very important request that could change this story. I put up a poll (you can find it on my profile; all you have to do is click my username at the top of the page where the description is) concerning Sam and the twins. I'm stuck between EIGHT ideas and I really need your help on this one. :( I feel bad about asking this favor because I know the update took a long time, but I would really like it if everyone came together and decide the fate of this story.**

**This chapter is at very LEAST 3,500+ words. Around 4,000+ by the time this A/N is done. I hope this makes up for the long wait.**

**Okay, my dizzy spells haven't gone away or gotten better, but I'm not having one right now, I don't feel one coming on...so absolutely no review quota (again, I feel TERRIBLE about letting you all down like this).**

**However, I can provide review replies:**

**_TheNinjaKitty13_- This is a branch of the government that specializes in ghost hunting. Of course it didn't occur to them. Honestly if we didn't know what happened to make him half ghost, we'd assume that one of his parents was ghost, the other human, right?**

**_AJ_- Well we're not sure. I've been told I need to move around some to get good circulation of my blood but it's not helping these spells. Oh don't feel bad for me. I've endured so much worse and whenever I get sick, it's usually more serious than just a cold or the flu. So I'll get through this once we find out what's going on. Thanks for your concern though. :) I appreciate it.**

**_PlasticPencils_- I'm not going to the hospital! D: UGH! I hate needles, I mean, metal going through your skin and entering your body?! AHHHH! lol I can't tell, now can I? By the way, PLEASE vote on the poll!**

**_sammansonrepilica_- Thank you and thank you again. :)**

**_fictionwriter28_- I still feel bad about this. I mean, do you remember what happened when I was writing FWB? So many problems with FF and now THIS?! *sigh* This sucks, I really wanna make it up to you all, that's one reason why this chapter was so long. Oh, writing isn't a trigger. I don't know what is, I get them randomly.**

**_HeroAce_- Thanks. :) And that's exactly why I freed Danny in this chapter. It WAS going on too long and I was starting to realize it a little late.**

**_Zinnia99_- Thanks. And I'm glad you do, I try hard to make this story at least tolerable.**

**_Adams7_- Yeah but at least they don't last forever. Thanks, I'll try. :P**

**_Inuyuke_- *salutes* Will do! And I'm so SICK of hiatuses! D: Remember how many were in FWB? Too many!**

**_I'm. Only. Human. Dude._ - Thanks, I try my best on each one. :) And thanks. I'll try to update when I can.**

**_Favorite Daughter of Hades_- lol He should but wouldn't that blow his cover? Thanks and thanks again. I'll be fine, you'll see.**

**_ChristinCC_- It's okay. Well now you know. :)**

**_Jaded Jimmie Productions_- Ah, don't sweat it, it's fine. I'm sure it's nothing serious. I've had lots of "serious" stuff in my life, this is nothing to fret over.**

**_Thunber_- I'm sure I'm fine. They'll go away eventually, I mean, nothing lasts forever. And I know I should pace myself on these chapters but I feel HORRIBLE about making the wait so long! D:**

**_Looka'sMagicHell_- Well they ARE smart, government-wise, and they ARE trained to deal with ghosts. They already suspected Danny was different, which is why they took his blood and accidentally found out he was half human. Can't tell, sorry. ;D And thanks.**

**Again, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not forget to vote on the poll! It seriously is important!**


	18. Chapter 18

_**(Pre-story A/N: THERE IS A VERY IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT IN THIS CHAPTER'S A/N. PLEASE READ IT!)**_

~Chapter 18~

She still watched...sort of. Honestly those little sleepy, dozy, on-the-line-between-conscious-and-unconcious spells were becoming longer. And lately, deeper. As determined as she was to stay right at that window continuing to scope out the outside world, trying to pick out anything that could remotely look like Danny, whether human or ghost, she simply couldn't hold out much longer. Under normal circumstances, staying up through one entire night wouldn't be so tiring, but given that she had two toddlers to care for, staying up late became that much tougher to accomplish. It felt like shew as reaching for something and got it, but could just barely hang onto it. Kinda like it could slip away at any second.

Her eyes started to close again, but this time they opened fully to the soft sound of her name. It was verbal, real. She swore it wasn't her imagination even though she knew it could very well be; she was that exhausted. She listened again, more closely this time, and held her breath to reduce any sound around her.

After just a few seconds, another brief and faint, "Sam!" was heard.

So it wasn't just her imagination. It had to be real. She wanted to believe it was Danny but she knew full well that it could also be someone or something else. Right now she couldn't distinguish who the voice sounded like. Please be him, please be him...

"Sam!" the voice called out to her again. This time it felt more distinguishable. It sounded a little like Danny, but just to be sure, she kept listening. Closely. Intently.

A few more seconds. And a few more. And a few more. No voice. No, "Sam!" What happened? Who was that? Could that have been Danny? Was he trying to find her? ...No, that couldn't be it. He knew where his own house was. Plus, he could be in any part of the city and even twenty miles outside the city, and could still easily find his way back. Patrolling the area and chasing down ghosts paid off when one was trying to find directions. To top it, he could simply fly higher in the air, get a bird's-eye view. Wouldn't be hard for him at all.

But after about...what, five, six seconds?...a form appeared right outside the window. She couldn't tell whether her eyes were playing tricks on her or if this was real, but she opened the window for an intangible Danny. He'd probably been flying through walls and such. She didn't know why exactly he was intangible and _not_ phasing through the window, but right now she could care less. Danny was alive!

He flew in and reverted to his human form. She rushed over to hug him and smother him...and probably smack him for making her worry so much. Normally a boyfriend would hug his girlfriend back, and Danny always returned her hugs. But this time he didn't. This time he turned around and stared at the window, studying it, almost seeming to _glare_ at it. It was odd and completely unlike him; was that window really so horrible?

It didn't take long for him to decide to spare the evil window, and he finally gave Sam her hug. Only it didn't seem like a regular hug, it was more of a protective embrace. This was weird. This was really weird. This boy fought ghosts, patrolled his city...but this was still weird and honestly, it was beginning to freak her out a little. He wasn't even checking on the twins, who were still slumbering in their crib.

"Sam," he whispered, "are you okay? Did you see anything strange? Did you hear anything strange? Did anything happen while I was gone?"

She pushed him away. He wasn't even looking at her, he was looking at that stupid window again. He didn't even seem to notice she was no longer against his body. Okay, now she was a little _more_ freaked out.

"Wha-? Danny, what in the world are you talking about?!" she hissed in frustration. "You were gone for hours! Hours! Almost an entire twenty-four hours! Why are you coming home acting like this? What happened? Where were you?" She noticed there was a deep cut on his chest, still bleeding. "And why are you hurt...?"

This seemed to snap him out of it and he looked down at himself, as if just now noticing the gash on his chest. How did he not notice that before? Must've hurt like crap and he still didn't notice? Or was it that he didn't care before now? Maybe he had been put in a situation that required him to ignore it. Or maybe he had felt it but at some point forgotten about it.

He cleared his throat. "I didn't mean to be gone so long."

"What happened?" she repeated.

He sighed and smiled sarcastically. "Oh, you know, same thing that always happens. My ghost sense goes off, I become Phantom, I fly out to see where the ghost is. Except this time I didn't find the ghost and the Guys In White attacked me from behind. I don't really know what happened, but one second I'm floating above Amity Park, and the next I'm in a completely white room. It took a little time, but I escaped." His expression turned from the mockery of the Guys In White to that of a serious topic. "But while I was there, they ran my DNA through some kind of tester. They know I'm half human."

"What?!" she gasped, unable to believe the government was that smart.

He continued, "They got the wrong idea. They think one of my parents is a ghost and the other is a human. They tried to use me to find you but I escaped before they could. Problem is, I don't know if they know what my human form looks like. If they do, then they can track me down and find you. So far it doesn't look like they have."

She thought for a minute. "Danny, the government would've followed you back here if they were tracking you. You know how they are. They're pretty impatient, right?"

He nodded, still focusing on the window.

"If you led them here, they'd have already swarmed this place. Right?"

His eyes finally left the window and fixed themselves onto the twins. "I guess so. But still, I'm keeping an eye out. Is everyone okay here?"

"We're all fine, but-" She grabbed the collar of his shirt and forced him to look her in the eye. "-don't you _ever_ make me worry like that again! I was starting to think you were lost, or even dead!" She held back the tears that were starting to form at the edges of her eyes and released him. "Don't do that again..."

He gently kissed her forehead. "Sam, I would never leave you like that without having a reason. I hope you trust me enough to know that."

She nodded and returned, "I do, but-"

"No buts," he cut her off, "I don't want any 'buts'. Don't doubt me like that."

She laughed. "Since when have I doubted you?"

He smirked, knowing he'd just made her unworried again, and flopped lazily onto the bed. "You always doubt me."

She followed his actions, except instead of just the bed, she flopped onto one of his arms, which conveniently happened to be spread out. She spread her arms too, making sure one of them was on his chest. The unlucky arm curled itself around her and he kissed her cheek.

She smiled and changed the subject to a much more lighthearted one. "I doubt you know what color your eyes are."

He blinked. "What? They're Fenton blue and Phantom green."

She laughed. "Nope. They're baby blue and girly green."

He looked away and laughed one of those laughs that told everyone you didn't know how to respond to that. And he really couldn't. He could gawk at her, but that was about it. She was clever, making those colors up like that. Baby blue? Girly green? Considering he was a guy, that was just demeaning. She was just trying to tear his eyes down. And what was he supposed to say back? What color were her eyes? What, velvet violet? Violent violet? She would actually like that one. Pale purple? Alright, that was just stupid. Great, so she managed to insult both colors of his eyes and he had nothing for one color. There were a lot of suckish things lately but he never thought his girlfriend's eyes could be one of them.

"You're stumped, aren't you?" she teased.

"My eyes are not baby and girly," he murmured, feigning offense.

"You keep telling yourself that," she playfully countered. "You know, I need to figure out something to call you."

He snorted. "Uh, well...my friends call me Danny. And when I'm in trouble my name is Daniel. So you just take your pick."

"Please, you know that's not what I mean."

He used the arm wrapped around her to flip her over onto his chest. It stung when she hit it and he remembered that he was still hurt, probably from when he was trying to cut off the rope and the door pushed the scalpel into him. He didn't notice it then; he was too focused on everything else. Bur right now his girlfriend wasn't worried about him and was actually laying on his chest. He still had that one arm wrapped around her.

She crossed her arms and rested her head on them. "Yup. I'm looking at baby blue eyes. Maybe I should just call you 'Baby Blue'."

He sighed in fake exasperation. "Alright, now you're just being mean. I don't really want to be called anything. Just use my names. Danny if I'm being a good boy, Daniel if I'm being a bad boy. Simple enough."

"My friends call me Sam. My boyfriend calls me Dove. Simple enough," she mocked. "You get to call a goth a white bird, why can't I call you something you're not?"

"What's so wrong with white? My hair is white when I go ghost."

"Yeah, but you also go negative when you go ghost. Besides, that's something you can't control."

"I happen to like my negative hair, thank you very much."

"Of course, because white hair is all the rage these days."

"Don't pretend you don't love it."

She turned her head to the side and laughed, knowing he wasn't going to let her call him anything beyond his name. But one day she might be able to think of something and then call him that, even if he didn't like it. And if he didn't like it, she would call him that when no one else was around. Sort of like how he only called her Dove when they were alone. She didn't know why he did that, but then again, she managed to hook a very shy fish and she never actually set him free. Party because 'free' meant fresh meat for the fangirls of Danny Phantom, and he had to go ghost at some point. And if she set him free, he might get snatched up by a different girl.

She knew this because if Paulina was flirting with him, even if she was desperate to get information, it meant she'd noticed his body. And she got the feeling that Paulina wasn't the only one who had been flirting with him. She could almost guarantee that there were other girls trying to catch his attention. She hated knowing that, but she trusted him enough to let him deal with those girls. She was the only one he was allowed to see in a romantic light.

She scooted forward until her head was hovering over his. "Kind of off topic here, but-... Danny...what are you doing?"

A look of confusion quickly swept his face, but instantly disappeared as he looked around her. His hand was a little too low on her back. As in, he was actually touching her butt.

He blushed hotly and quickly jerked his arm back. "Sorry! I'm sorry! I swear, I didn't do that on purpose, it was just, you moved forward and my hand didn't move with you! I swear, I _swear_, that was not on purpose! I didn't even know about that until you pointed it out! It was my hand's fault, it just- No, wait...that came out wrong. Okay, I should've just taken my hand off you when you moved. I'm sorry!"

"Woah! Woah! Calm down!" she chuckled. "I forgive you, geez. Just make sure you talk to your hand about where it ends up."

He looked away, the redness on his face refusing to subside.

"Okay, back to what I was saying. Did you ever forgive me?" she asked, oddly enough not blushing at all.

He looked back up at her. Her head was still right where it was before, not an inch to the left, not a millimeter closer. "For what?"

"For these..." she sighed. She took one of her arms out from under her head and used her teeth to roll up her sleeve. All those scars were revealed and all she could do was look at them. She never let anyone see them. Danny himself rarely caught sight of them. She was ashamed to know she did this to herself, and even more ashamed that she caused so much drama and so much trouble for Danny. All because of these scars. All because of her.

The arm that wasn't in trouble reached out and took up her wrist. He ran his thumb over the scars. They made her arm bumpy and textured. She always tried so hard to hide them from everyone; it was shocking that she would let him see.

She continued. "Is this how you see me every day?"

He furrowed his eyebrows, this time taking real offense. "No! Sam, what-? I mean- You have to be kidding me! Why do you-? Why would you even think that?! I just...I..." He let out a breath and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "Look, we're both tired, we should just go to sleep now."

He pushed the goth off him, not forcefully, but definitely enough to be a sign that he was angry. And he was. He had a right to be! After everything he'd tried to do for her, after everything she'd gone through... And she still thought he looked at her scars? Her _scars_? The same ones he looked past? The same ones he never even thought of anymore? She still thought that about him? He knew he wasn't good enough, he knew he didn't do anything to deserve her, but he didn't know he was _this_ bad.

Sam quickly got up as Danny walked around to the other side of the bed. "Danny, wait!"

He shook his head, finding himself unable to look her in the eye. "Sorry, but Daniel's really hoping we can just drop the subject." He threw back the covers and didn't hesitate to jump onto the bed, turning over and facing the direction opposite of Sam. He certainly felt like crying-out of pure frustration and anger-but he wouldn't in front of Sam. He didn't want to be seen as a heartless jerk, but what did he do to deserve that? She could've told him anything, she could've brought up anything in the world. And she chose her scars. Of all that could be said!

She said she didn't doubt him, she said she trusted him. He still had a hard time understanding why she'd said what she did, why she'd asked him if all he saw was her scars. Granted, he failed a _lot_, but he tried to make her happy. He'd been trying for years, even before he knew she was pregnant. Maybe trying didn't cut it, but personally he thought it should count for something. And maybe it did, maybe it didn't. It was hard to tell with Sam sometimes and right now, it was especially hard.

She'd basically just told him he only saw a bunch of old cuts from a long time ago that came with a deep depression that he couldn't help her with. Now he was offended because it was the furthest thing from the truth, and she knew he was offended. That was why she told him to 'wait'. She wanted to lie to make him feel better. So all that _and_ a lie. Should he just make a menu and order from that?

He felt the bed shake a bit as the goth got into bed with him. She moved closer to his body, until she was actually against his back. This time a kiss wouldn't resolve much; he hoped she knew that. And to be perfectly honest, it was a little embarrassing to feel her against him in light of the butt accident from earlier. But everyone was exhausted, and it really was a good idea that they slept. He still had school in the morning, and the twins would be asleep only for another few hours, meaning Sam would also have her work cut out for her.

**A/N**

**Well, I'm hoping this was a fast update. Or at least fast_er_. :)**

**I wanna thank those of you who took the time to vote on the poll. For those of you who didn't, you aren't out of time. YET. Come the next two or three, maybe four chapters, the end result will tell. I'm regularly checking up on this poll to see how things are going. Already a single option has taken 25% of the eight choices. So while you still have the chance, vote for what you want.**

**And on the topic of polls, I'd like to announce that I've put up another poll. It's on my profile page. Now, THIS poll is much different. It still focuses on this story, but...well, I'll let you find out for yourselves. You should check it out though, because this one will affect the story MUCH more than the first one. I've had the idea for awhile now, and I'm really hoping at least one of you will be willing to vote on the newest poll. It'll change the rest of the story, but won't stray from the storyline. It's a very big decision though, and I greatly advise you to vote.**

**Poll 1 will close at around the second chapter from now.**

**Poll 2 will close at around the third or fourth chapter.**

**But keep in mind that I might forget to check the polls right before I start those chapters, so vote quickly. Those chapters will sneak up on you. ;)**

**Now, because I finally DIDN'T make you guys wait so long, there'll be a review quota, and that would be two hundred sixty-seven (267) reviews.**

**And now for your review replies:**

**_HeroAce_- lol You are so crazy. :P Their glasses, really?**

**_Zinnia99_- Thanks. :D They DO say two heads are better than one. Except in this case it's a chapter so...I'm not entirely sure if it counts. :/ Hm.**

**_Sammi_- :D Yes, he does! lol**

**_TheNinjaKitty13_- They ish nutsh. :P Wow, really? Then you're way smarter than I am. XD**

**_Looka'sMagicHell_- I'm my own critic and I hate making you guys wait. It's not being hard on myself when it's put like that. ;) Well, you just saw how the reunion turned out. And how it ended. Thanks for voting! :)**

**_Favorite Daughter Of Hades_- Well it's fine if you don't want to vote. So far, on the first poll obviously, only a handful of those who red this story actually voted, but the votes I do have are pretty accurate.**

**_AJ_- ;) Once you see the new poll, you might change that last sentence.**

**_I'm. Only. Human. Dude._ - Surely you don't think I'd keep him locked up in there! :P I mean, I'm evil but I'm not THAT evil. I figured I'd give the poor guy a break for once.**

**_sammansonrepilica_- I reply to everyone who reviews. :) It's kinda like my way of saying thanks. And...voila! Here is what's next! Kind of stale, but for now it's all I got.**

**_Inuyuke_- Ummmm, to be honest, I didn't ever actually keep up with the time on this one so I'm not sure if it was a night or what. :/ Yeah...I dunno... Sorry. And at least right now I'm feeling better. :) No doctor/clinic/hospital is needed.**

**_LittleBoomBoom_- They aren't very good cliffhangers, if you can even call them that. I just have to end the chapter somewhere, so...yeah. But I'm glad you think they're good. :) Thanks for voting, and the whole reviewing thing is fine. So long as you like my story, that's what counts.**

**_Altruis_- lol Yeah, it's fine. **

**Once more, PLEASE vote on both the polls, especially the second one (now that the first one has a top answer so far, unless it's changed).**


	19. Chapter 19

~Chapter 19~

The next day at school was awkward. Normally Danny talked to Tucker about everything, but since Tucker didn't know much of what happened with Sam, it would be too hard to explain things. And worse, he would have to face Sam at lunch today, which was already coming up fast. To top that, he was tired. If Sam came, she would be tired. And sometimes she was moody when she was tired. He would be too tired to handle her if she decided to go off on someone...even if that someone was him.

"Danny? Hello?" Tucker said, snapping his fingers in front of his friend's face.

Broken from his trance, that halfa slowly looked up at him. "Hm?"

"What happened to you last night? You look horrible," he said.

"Mmm..." Danny yawned. "Just...you know. The government hates me."

"Why are they always so hard on you anyway? It's not like you're a criminal."

The halfbreed shrugged. "Mmm-mmm-mmm." The throat's equivalent of, "I don't know."

"Dude, are you okay?"

"Mmm-mmm-mmm..." Danny lowered his head to the table and no sooner than he did, the bell rang, signalling the much-dreaded lunchtime.

The bell helped wake him up, but the thought that Sam could be visiting was almost horrifying. It slapped him awake. Well, mostly awake. Part of his brain had shut down for the day and refused to start cranking its gears again. After everything that happened last night, things would get so tense... He wasn't sure he would be able to talk to her. Not because he didn't want to-okay part of him really, _really_ didn't want to-but because she thought he looked at her scars instead of her. All he had ever seen was her, not some stupid injury. The only reason he cared so much about them back in her cutting days was because she was hurting herself and he was letting her. He needed to see the damage. But once she was admitted into Other Ways, he'd stopped worrying about them. Now he never even thought of them...except for last night, when she'd shown him her wrist.

He sat down but didn't eat. He could only watch the usual direction Sam came from. And his fear came true within a matter of minutes. There she was, not willing to let go of seeing her friend and boyfriend at lunch. Only, he wasn't sure if she wanted to see him right now, or Tucker. Tucker would make a lot more sense. He highly doubted either of them would want to face each other right now. It would be a very tense atmosphere...

"Hey, Sam!" Tucker greeted, waving at her. He had yet to know about the 'lover's quarrel', if that could qualify, last night.

Sam came up as usual, not saying a word until she sat down. She seemed to ignore Tucker's greeting and turned to Danny, nudging him gently with her elbow. He simply kept his eyes down and stared at his food, all the while listening closely to what was going on around him. Now came the tense atmosphere part of it. Neither of the two talked, and even Tucker seemed to be pulled into the awkward dimension they'd created.

It was Sam who finally broke the silence. "Danny..."

But he refused to answer, he didn't so much as look at her. He couldn't look at her. After last night, one wrong move on his part could tick her off. And after last night, one wrong move on her part could tick him off. Tucker was probably deciding it was best to stay out of whatever was going on, because he wasn't talking at all. Instead he looked nervously at them both, his eyes darting from one person to another.

"Danny," she tried again, only to receive the same response.

He turned his head slightly in the direction opposite of the goth.

"Come on, Danny," she pleaded. "Let's just talk about this."

This time it became fairly easy to talk, but still not easy to look at her. "Talk about what? There isn't much to say."

She put her hands up in defense. "You took it the wrong way, I-"

"_Took it the wrong way_?" he repeated, his eyes widening. "I _took it the wrong way_? How? How did I take it the wrong way? I mean, I never once looked at you that way!"

"You're overreacting," she said firmly. "I didn't mean it like that."

His head shot up. "Oh, I'm _overreacting_ now?"

"You overreacted last night! You wouldn't even let me explain myself!"

"Because there's nothing to explain!" he countered. "I know you meant what you said, and _no_, I didn't 'take it the wrong way'! You don't think I got what you were trying to say? Because I did! And honestly, I think it's horrible that you would assume-"

"I didn't assume anything, Danny!" she retorted. "I-"

"Then why did you ask me that?! What happened to trusting me?! What happened to not doubting me?! I never looked at your body, I only ever looked at _you_! And you call _me_ clueless!"

"Uhhh, I think I'll just leave you two alone for awhile," Tucker chuckled nervously, slowly backing away from the table.

Neither of them paid any attention.

"You know," Danny continued, "I never cared about your scars except for the time you were cutting. But after Other Ways... I mean, didn't you ever realize how I came to see you as often as I could? If all I cared about was your skin, I would never have kept visiting you like I did! I. Cared. About. You."

She groaned. "I know, I get that. B-"

"If you know then why'd you ask me something like that?! You told me, through that _one_ question, that when I looked at you I only saw scars. Nothing more. And I don't see your scars, Sam! I mean, physically I do-"

"Wait a minute, _physically_? You _physically_ see my scars. Not my eyes, not my hands, no! My scars! How lovely!" she yelled, throwing her hands up.

"You know what I mean," he growled. "Why would you think that about me, Sam?! Why would you think I'm some guy who only cares about appearances?!"

Her eyebrows furrowed. "So my looks aren't good enough? Nice, thanks for that little notice."

"Hey, don't turn this back on me! I'm not the one who sat there and said 'Even after everything we've been through together, I just wanna let you know that I think you still look at my scars!'! Why would you think that?! I'm not like that! I never have been! I never will be! And even after you saw my notebook, even after you saw all those drawings, how could you say that?!"

Before she could utter a single word, the halfa turned to look at her, straight in the eyes. He pulled one of her hands up. "Violet eyes. Soft hands." He let her hand go to gently wrap his arms around her neck, resting his forehead on hers. "Beautiful personality." He kissed her forehead and looked back down at her. "As well as a beautiful body."

She looked away, blushing. "You are still the biggest liar on the planet."

"Am I?" he asked. "Because in my eyes, it's telling the truth."

"Then your eyes are wrong."

He smiled. "Then could you check them?" His arms slid down from around her neck and repositioned themselves around her waist. "Listen, I've been meaning to tell you something for a long time now. Meet me after school, and make sure someone's willing to watch the twins for awhile."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, because I let two babies roam the house all day long."

He kissed her forehead again and let his lips linger there for awhile before spotting a Mosquito. This time, though, he didn't mind them watching. Neither he or Sam was talking, so no information had a possibility of being revealed. Well...except one piece that he knew Sam would like him to give out. The Mosquito was near enough to hear this.

"You'll always be my dove. You know that, right?" he mumbled against her forehead.

She almost nodded but remembered Danny's lips still on her forehead and instead said, "I know."

"I'm going to start calling you that in public now. That okay?"

She closed her eyes. "Mmm-hmm."

This was how things were supposed to be. This was how things should've been when he came home last night. It should never have ended like it did. At least now he managed to work things out with Sam.

He pulled his head back and glared directly at the Mosquito. It was a girl, and they say it was only the female mosquitoes that sucked blood. So she must be one of the blood-suckers. No mosquito bites for her today, sorry. He still glared, only breaking his gaze when-and this was both surprising and unsurprising-Paulina walked up from behind the couple.

Sam growled in anger as she saw the girl. Danny's back was to her; he didn't know yet. However, when he heard the goth growl, he turned around. Lovely. Very lovely. However, looking back on their conversation from awhile back, he had only said not to speak to Sam like she did. He never said anything about staying away from anyone, and he never said she couldn't speak to Sam. So long as Paulina stayed in her place, she was tolerated.

The one good thing about all this was that Danny was the one controlling the situation. Sam let him do what he wanted with everyone, including herself. At home, she held power, but when situations like this arose, he was in charge and she would obey him. And that factor was good for Danny, since he knew how to handle these scenarios. He also needed to hold Sam back sometimes to make sure nothing physical happened. Because Sam had wrath. A lot of wrath. And she wasn't afraid to dish it out. Especially on people she hated. Especially on Paulina.

"Paulina," he greeted stiffly.

"Hello, Danny. Hello, Sam." She was obviously being careful, not wanting to arouse any problems with the halfa.

"You need to tell your groupies to stop spying on us," he said.

Sam gritted her teeth and clenched the side of his shirt, just like she had the last time this happened. It wasn't good for the Latina, considering Sam's distress triggered a kind of protective instinct in Danny. He assumed it had something to do with her actions and emotions after her first rape. He didn't want Sam to go through anything else, so...he got protective.

A look of discomfort took over Paulina's expression. She kept looking down at his shirt, right at his chest, and jerked back a little. She started biting her nails, which was something he'd never seen her do before.

"Hey, is something wrong?" Danny asked, becoming a little worried. Despite Sam's hatred for this girl, he knew something was wrong. He hoped Sam knew this too, otherwise she was going to lash out and start something.

Looking away, she weakly pointed to his chest. He absentmindedly rubbed a hand over it until he felt something wet. He gripped his shirt, forgetting that he had been cut with that scalpel. Apparently it went a lot deeper than he thought, because he had to force himself not to hiss in pain. He reluctantly looked down. This wasn't a cut. This was an open gash. Of course...the door had nearly slammed him down. It was so forceful and sudden that the scalpel almost slipped from his mouth. That must've been the precise time when it dug into him. Somewhere in that time frame, he had pushed the blade into himself and actually sliced it down his body. He was too focused on getting out of the rope that he didn't notice it at all. And when Sam pointed it out to him, he thought it was simply a cut. He didn't know it was this bad. He was a ghost at the time this happened so...there was a possibility that his blood could be mixed with ectoplasm.

He cast an 'oh _crap_' glance at Sam and she immediately relinquished his shirt, peering around him to see what the big deal was. She gasped when she saw his chest. He was still bleeding; he blood was still spreading across his clothing.

She grabbed him and pulled him away from the school. The movement was painful for him, she could tell, but there was no way he could go around school bleeding like this. A little blood was one thing; it could be passed off as a small injury. But this kind of bleeding was far too much to be passed off as a 'minor' or 'simple' injury. There was a gaping hole in him that they'd forgotten about last night, and now it had reopened. So...Paulina actually did something _beneficial_ for once.

Once he was completely off campus, she asked how he could've missed that.

"I don't know!" he replied. "I didn't feel it until Paulina started getting upset."

The goth wanted to grimace at that she-devil's name, but refrained from doing so for Danny's sake. "We need to get you to the house fast. Do you have enough energy to fly us there? I can patch you up and we can pretend none of this ever happened."

He took a deep breath and nodded. "Just...no more peroxide..."

She rolled her eyes. "It needs to be cleaned one way or another. Now let's go before someone else sees you this way."

He nodded again and picked her up. With her all-clear, he transformed and lifted the both of them into the sky, where he quickly made his way back.

As he landed, the goth noticed that his black jumpsuit was leaking green. Ectoplasm. The more ectoplasm he bled, the more greenish his human blood would look.

"Change back, quick!" she ordered.

He did as told and let her drag him inside, effectively avoiding all family members.

First thing he said once he was inside and up in his room... "Please don't do this to me..." His tone was childish. He was begging her. His voice was soft. His hopes of getting pity from her were going to be shattered.

She took off his shirt and forced him to stay still. "Try to relax, it'll all be over soon."

He clutched the edge of his bed as he was whimpering, unwilling to go through this again. But still, he sat up straight, tried to oblige, and tried not to think of the horrid burning that was soon to befall him. He closed his eyes, still trying to look dignified. He didn't.

"Okay, Danny. This is just water. It's nice and cool, so it won't hurt."

Oh thank goodness...

"Please...don't use the peroxide..." he whispered to her.

"You're being such a baby right now," she muttered back as she took a damp cloth and held it on his wound. "I went through labor with _twins_ and you're complaining over a little peroxide."

"I'm a male!" he countered. "I can't go through labor!"

"Exactly. It's the most painful thing I've ever experienced, now be quiet and just go with it."

He mumbled something incomprehensible to himself and made sure to keep his eyes shut tightly, attempting to brace himself for the sear of the forsaken peroxide and the demon of a cotton ball.

The damp cloth and its soothing coolness was removed...and it was soon to be replaced by pure evil.

He started to squirm a little as he heard the bottle of peroxide swish around.

"Wake the twins up and you're as good as dead," she warned.

Any second now...any...second...AAAAHHHH!

He tensed and involuntarily wiggled, slowly scooting away and making it harder for Sam to pour the stuff on his chest.

"Will you stop that?!" she hissed. "You act like I'm torturing you to death!"

He took a deep breath and shut his eyes. Thankfully none of the blood had clotted yet so the fibers of the cotton ball had nothing to cling to or tear off. But it was collecting peroxide and smearing it into the wound. IT HURT!

"Okay, this is where 'Baby Blue' comes into play. Stop. Moving," she said.

He tried to keep still but the cotton ball just kept going deeper...!

"Daniel!" she whisper-yelled.

He started grinding his teeth and tried to think of something else. His whole body was tense with the harsh burning sensation on his chest, but he was trying to revert back to 'Danny'. He didn't like being called his real name for a reason. He was just hoping she wouldn't use his middle name. That name meant 'I will kill you if you don't do what I say!' It wasn't exactly a good name. And thankfully it wasn't used very often anymore. But Sam was tired today, and it was probably best just to shut up and go with the flow.

"Okay. Good boy. I'm done," she said as though she'd accomplished some seemingly-impossible task. "Now go get a new shirt. Lunch shouldn't be over yet, so you still have time to get back to school before anyone notices."

He cracked one eye open, just to make sure she wasn't pulling his leg. She was putting that accursed bottle away as well as the bag of cotton balls. Oh sweet relief...

He got up, his injury no longer bleeding thanks to...when did she put on a bunch of bandages? He didn't even feel that. Well...no wonder she had him sitting upright. She wouldn't be able to put those on if he was laying down. A tiny splotch of red was showing through, but it wasn't spreading. He quickly went to his closet, remembering school, and fished out a new shirt. As he turned around, he tripped over something.

He didn't know what it was, and at first hardly cared what it was, until he turned around to put it back up.

**A/N**

**HATE ME! GO ON, HATE ME FOR THIS CLIFFIE! *sigh* I am so evil, aren't I? :3 I hope you enjoyed this chapter though. And sorry I couldn't update sooner. I'm trying to help out a friend with her story. Anyhoo, don't wanna keep you waiting, so on with everything else!**

**Please DO NOT forget to vote on the polls. I am aware that only one poll at a time can be shown on my profile, so I will change them out every other day. For now it's on Poll 2, so please hurry and vote! I need an answer to take the lead because I have THREE TIES right now! If this isn't resolved soon, I'll have to make a new poll with only those three choices, and you guys will only be able to vote for one. So I'm begging you to vote!**

**New review thingermabobber shall be two hundred seventy-six (276).**

**Review replies:**

**Favorite Daughter of Hades- I did put both the polls up but apparently only one can be shown and voted for.**

**sammansonrepilica- I wanted to make a realistic scene, because I kept getting this nagging feeling that the whole thing was starting to decline. So I decided to try to stay with the storyline; it felt like it was veering off. Also, I did throw in some time skips because I can't count down every single day of the twins' lives, and I refer to them as toddlers because they can walk now and can respond to questions with a 'yes' and 'no'. So I viewed them as both babies and toddlers, like something in between.**

**TheNinjaKitty13- lol I didn't mea for that line to be funny but I'm glad you liked it. XP Yeah, no one saw the fight coming. ;3 Yahoo! My story rocks! :D**

**I'm. Only. Human. Dude- She doesn't think that, she was asking if he ever forgave her but it didn't come out the right way. But yeah, I agree, they would definitely not be together if that was all he saw.**

**HeroAce- XD You have a weird sense of collector's items, huh? Like...I dunno, government agent glasses? lol Yeah, you felt right then. I mean, no one can have a fight like that and not feel weird about it the next day.**

**Looka'sMagicHell- lol If only there were such things as chill pills. Well, it's more like Danny's mad at Sam. They love each other but that doesn't mean things like this won't happen, where one of them gets angry at the other for whatever reason.**

**ChristinCC- Action...? What kind of action? (just to clarify a suspicion I have)**

**Inuyuke- Oh it's fine. Sorry for updating late. XD Geez, poor Danny! **

**PlasticPencils- Yeah, you voted. By the way, YOU caused the ties from your votes and I couldn't believe it. Of all people, my best friend...!**

**Thunber- That's fine. I can't say WHEN these polls' answers will appear, that'd be against the story code. But I'll make sure I take into account that there is another vote for 'yes'. **

**I would like to announce that one of the three tie options is TRIPLETS. XD You guys are so mean! I mean, poor Sam here, she's just like... Seriously, I didn't think that option would get so many votes! However, I don't want bias, so any polls I put up are blind. I just wanted to say this thing about the triplets because I still can't believe it! lol!**


	20. Chapter 20

~Chapter 20~

It was his shoebox that held those old shoes from the dance. He hated those things. They were so uncomfortable. He went to put them back in the box so he could shove that thing back into the depths of his closet where his mother would never find them. The first one was fine, nothing happened, it was a normal shoe. But the second one, having been turned upside down when it fell out of the box, was a normal shoe with something underneath it, something that had come out during the fall. He picked it up and as he did, he heard a sort of clatter under it. He looked down. He could hardly believe what he saw.

"Uh...Sam," he called to his girlfriend.

"Hm?" she hummed from the bathroom. "If this is about your chest, I haven't put away the bandages yet. Yes, we'll still have to use peroxide, but thankfully you won't be tortured by how long you have to wait. It'll be over before you know it."

"Uh, no, that's not it. Can you come here for a second?" he asked, still hardly able to register what he was holding.

There was a soft thud as she closed the cabinet, the medical supplies safely tucked away inside. They were in the corner, where his parents weren't too likely to find them. If they found them, they'd think something was wrong and they would want to know. If they found Danny wrapped up in all those bandages, they'd interrogate him. And chances were, he wouldn't win the interrogation. Bad news for everyone at that point.

She quickly checked on the twins, making sure they hadn't woken up from their nap yet, before turning her attentions to Danny. She immediately halted, horrified, and felt the color in every part of her body drain away. She drew a sharp breath and seemed unable to let it back out.

"Sam, is there something you want to talk to me about?" he asked softly, slowly moving his held object behind his back. "Because you can tell me anything. I won't get mad, I swear. I'm just...I'm kinda worried about you."

Speechless, she could only stare in his direction. She was too shocked to so much as open her mouth. Heck, the girl didn't even know what to say at this point!

"It's okay," he coaxed, "You can talk to me."

Still motionless. Still shocked. Still out of words. Still holding in a breath.

"Look, I know I'm supposed to be going to school right now, but I want you to tell me what's wrong. I can still afford tardy slips. And the worst they can do to me is detention."

Still nothing.

"Please, Sam. I've been through everything with you. Just tell me what's wrong. I can help. I won't tell anyone, I-" He was cut short when he saw her raise a shaky finger, pointing at him. Her jaw dropped and he could tell she was trying to speak but couldn't.

"You can tell me _anything_, even if you think it'll hurt me. I can take it, I can! I mean, if this is because of me, I can fix it. Or is this about your scars? What about when I was gone, what happened? How long-" Again he stopped himself.

"Y...You...but..." she whispered, trying to find the words.

"Yes, I found it, but it's okay. Just...please, tell me what's wrong!"

She still looked like she was about to pass out, but she was trying to speak, and that was a start. "Dan-Danny...how'd you...how'd you find...?"

"I tripped over my shoebox when I was getting a new shirt. When I put the shoes back in, this fell out."

She let out a quivering breath. "That's not..."

"Yes it is," he continued. "Please...tell me, I need to know what's wrong, I need to know why you were hiding this from me."

Slowly shaking her head, she responded, "I...you don't... That was...that was from a long time ago..."

"What do you mean?" he asked warily, bringing out the item from behind him. "If it was from so long ago, what was it doing in my shoe?"

"I forgot about it!" she blurted. "I forgot I put it there!"

A look of confusion crossed his face. "What?"

She sighed and plowed on. "Okay, look. That thing has been in your shoe for years now, almost two and a half years. I forgot it was there and didn't think you would ever find it."

"Why?"

"Because you never touch those shoes."

"No, I mean why'd you hide it in the first place? What is this, how'd you get it? _Where'd_ you get it?" he corrected, assaulting her with his new barrage of questions.

She snatched it up and before he had a chance to take it back, she began explaining everything. "Remember when that man almost slit my throat, back when I was still pregnant with the twins?" She didn't give him time to answer and continued on. "Well, he used this knife. I think he dropped it when you saved me. A few weeks after you were all crazed up on pollen, I went out and somehow wound up at my old house."

He made no attempt to ask questions, hoping she would explain everything thoroughly enough to satisfy him. If he wanted to know anything, it could wait until the end, when she was done speaking. It was still weird, even after all this time she'd spent living with him, that she was still referring to her parents' house as her 'old house'. It was true, of course, but it didn't make it any less awkward.

"I found this and..." The blade flipped out.

He nodded as he forced himself to keep a straight face.

"It was the same day you started sweating out the poison. It was also the same day you found out and promised not to tell. When you asked me where the knife was, I lied and said it was in the dishwasher. This was what I used most of the time. Ever since then I had to hide it from you because it was stained with blood and I couldn't wash it off. I kept it hidden in your shoe because you hate those shoes and haven't touched them since the dance. I thought it was the perfect hiding spot. But after I got back from Other Ways, I forgot I even had it."

For a few minutes, he kept his mouth shut and didn't say a word. His expression was kept even and emotionless. Even his eyes seemed to be dead. She wondered what was going on in his mind. She wondered what he would think of her now, considering all that had happened last night, and then today... He was her boyfriend and her children's father, and she expected him to love her unconditionally, but recalling what happened with her parents and how she could so easily have sworn they would never do such a thing to her, she had to keep in mind that this might not be the case with him. She didn't want to doubt him. She wanted to trust him. But it was hard, especially with the tension in the room thickening with each second that passed.

She pushed the blade back in and set it beside her, getting down on her knees and crawling up to Danny, who had actually sat down while listening to her story. She noticed the little red blotch on his chest. He really didn't need a shirt. Those bandages were good enough; more like a strapless tank top. If he had cleavage, it wouldn't be showing. She mentally slapped herself and shook the thought of her boyfriend having cleavage out of her head. That was an image she didn't want to remember. And hopefully that one wouldn't haunt her for the rest of her life.

"Danny?" she murmured.

His eyes flickered over to her, still completely emotionless and dull. It scared her.

"Danny...?" she repeated, this time her voice small and unsure.

With a sigh, he got up from his cross-legged position and lifted himself onto his knees, still looking straight at her. He dropped to all fours, just as she had, and crawled closer. She couldn't get over his eyes. He showed no love, no care, not even the negative emotions she was beginning to think he had. There was...nothing. And it was scaring her half to death.

But then he closed his eyes and gently pressed his lips to hers. There were no words to describe how relieved she was at that point. And his eyes were closed. She didn't have to see his cold, lifeless eyes anymore. It made her feel more comfortable. Instead she could enjoy his kiss, the only sign right now that showed he still loved her.

It wasn't deep and passionate, but it was soft and gentle. Still a kiss. A kiss that, she noticed, he'd initiated.

Although it was a kiss nonetheless, he quickly pulled back and stared at her. His eyes were starting to show emotion, but his expression was still void. "You're not going to use that switchblade again," he said firmly, much more of a command than a statement.

She frantically shook her head. "No, I'm done! I want that thing destroyed!"

There were times-and this was one of those times-when Danny seized control. He never did it very often, but when he did, she backed down and did what he said. Every time this happened, she became uncharacteristically submissive. He never said anything that would hurt her and he never made her do anything uncomfortable, unless it was a time like this where she had to answer his questions. But nevertheless, whenever Danny took over like this, she actually felt safer, knowing that the situation was in his hands and he would handle it probably better than she would.

He smiled. "Good, because I was gonna destroy it anyway." This time, a genuine question with every hint of curiosity, he added, "You aren't thinking about starting that up again, are you?"

The goth grimaced, as if disgusted with the question. "Absolutely not. I'm never doing that again. It's the worst mistake I've ever made."

The entire atmosphere around him lifted and all tension dissipated. "Everyone's made mistakes."

"What's your worst mistake, Baby Blue?" she mocked.

He seemed to ignore his hopefully-not-permanent new nickname and looked away. He didn't want to remind Sam of all she'd been through. Remembering it was all too easy for her and it was the very reason she feared the dark. She even had nightmares when he didn't wrap his arms around her each night. She needed him, needed to feel his safety. She needed to know he was there for her. But his biggest and by far _worst_ mistake was failing to protect her three times, consecutively. He was never there for her, it was just something she wanted to believe, something to quell her fears. It was something that was completely untrue and had he been there to help her, she wouldn't have suffered so badly. _That_ was his worst mistake.

"Uh..." He laughed nervously. Sam never had a record of responding well when he berated himself over not being there when she needed him. "Uh, you know, I have so many mistakes...it's hard to keep up with them. I'm mean, I'm clueless, remember?"

"Yeah. Because the laugh didn't give it away," she pressed.

He smiled and looked away, trying to look innocent and truthful. "I...don't really know."

She crawled around him to meet his gaze. "Biggest liar on the planet."

He looked down, but she dipped under him and looked up. He looked diagonally and she moved into a position that forced him to look her in the eyes. He gave up, knowing it was useless to keep looking away. She was even still under his head, determined to keep him captive!

Sighing, he said, "I was never there for you when you needed me."

She frowned and, to satisfy the current position of her straining neck, flipped onto her back and let her head rest on the floor. "Danny, that's not true. Weren't _you_ the one who saved my throat from being slit? Weren't _you_ the one who found me in the rain? Weren't _you_ the one who sent me to Other Ways? Weren't _you_ the one who let me move in with you when I needed a place to stay? Weren't _you_ the one who stayed by me even after I got drunk...and _supposedly_ did certain things?"

Before she could finish her little speech, he cut her off at perfect timing after her last sentence. "Wasn't _I_ the one who could've prevented all that in the first place?"

She shook her head. "You didn't know about any of this. It's not your fault. And besides...weren't you the one who agreed to be the twins' father, and weren't you the one who held that promise even though I told you you didn't have to?"

He wanted to look away, but chances were, she'd squirm herself to a point where he had to face her.

"Stop beating yourself up over it. None of this is your fault, it never was," she added. "Besides, if none of this happened, the twins wouldn't exist and you might not be my boyfriend. Especially given how shy you are."

He flushed. "I'm not shy!"

She smiled and stared at him, letting her eyes reply for her. Yes he was. Even now, even when he was seventeen years old, he was shy. Of course, he was still male, and he still flaunted what he had every now and then. So...in a way, that much had changed over the years. He used to never show off, especially not around her, but now he took a small opportunity. Take for instance, the whole escape of the Guys In White fiasco. He acted like it was a cinch getting out of there but she knew it was much harder than he let on. Why else would he have that deep a gash in him? And he was away for a very long time, if it was in fact such a 'simple' and 'easy' escape. The Guys In White were complete idiots but he had been transferred to one of their facilities. Getting out of it...probably not that easy.

But that just proved how he felt the urge to flash his feathers, even if he didn't know he was doing it. Or, maybe he did, and maybe he was proud that she noticed it. She assumed it was a male instinct. And although he acted like a baby sometimes, he was a male nonetheless. Thus, a little bit of a showoff nonetheless.

"And...besides, even if I was, there's nothing wrong with it," he said defensively. "I've heard that girls happen to like shy guys."

"Well, there's shy guys, and then there's you. One half is shy as heck, and the other half loves to show off for his fans," she teased.

"That half is a hero, he _has_ to do that!" he retorted. "It's in all comic books, look it up and see for yourself."

She chuckled. "You just want a reason to show off in front of everyone, admit it."

The halfa still wanted to look away and it was becoming hard to do now that Sam kept on about this. He never showed off! So he smiled for the cameras and flew around really fast, was that a crime? It was just part of being a hero, that's all. Heroes had to look good and...well, heroic. So he _had_ to prove his strength. It let the citizens know they were safe.

Then again... He sighed. Sam was always like this. It was just part of her personality. Yeah. Not that it was bad. Actually, it was charming. In a weird, overly sarcastic kind of way. Hm...now might be a good time to tell her. They were alone, the twins were asleep, Jazz was at school, and his parents were down in the lab. No interruptions, no loud noises...only peace.

"Hey, Sam?"

"Hm?"

His flush turned into a blush. "I, um..." He cleared his throat. Why was he nervous about this? They'd _lived_ together for almost two years now! "I know I told you to meet me after school, but...I think I'll just tell you this now. I..." His voice trailed off and as the goth waited, he slowly summoned enough courage to spit it out, and while that short burst of courage still lasted... "I love you!"

She couldn't believe it. He'd never once said that to her. And here he said he wasn't shy...

She swiveled herself around so that her body, though still awkwardly under him, was parallel to his. Grinning widely, she locked her arms around his neck and yanked the entire front portion of him down, his lips crashing onto hers. He almost pulled away in shock, but only managed a twitch. She had him good and she had no intentions of letting him go anytime soon. He said he could afford a late slip, didn't he? And he'd already offered to take a late slip, didn't he? Plus, he was already late. Lunch was over and that meant he could skip the rest of school for today. But that boy wouldn't be missing any classes tomorrow. She never allowed him to skip unless ghost trouble rose up.

But today was different. It was the first time he'd said he loved her. She had been waiting for the day he would say that. Now it had finally arrived and she wasn't going to simply lose him to mental torture. No, she had an opportunity this time and she was taking it. And...she also had a surprise for him, but it would have to wait until she turned eighteen. It was a shame, really, because she knew he would leap with joy upon seeing it. Maybe he would even go ghost and flutter into the air. Now _that_ would be funny!

**A/N**

**:'D D'AWWW! I've been planning to make him say that for awhile now but figured that because he WAS so shy, I should wait to make it super cute. Or sweet, whichever.**

**DON'T FORGET THE POLLS!**

**;) What do you think the surprise will be...?**

**Review quota: two hundred eighty-three (284).**

**Review replies:**

**_BooksAreMyVideoGames_- Books are my video games too. :D AWESOME fishy faces! They ish epical... (patent pending on that word)**

**_smallvillephantom14_- D: No of course not! I'm evil but I'm not THAT evil! ...Okay, maybe a little bit. But not enough to make him trip over one of the twins.**

**_Zinnia99_- Woohoo! Thanks, I was hoping to get a better chapter on that one. :)**

**_AJ_- It's fine. And yeah, I was trying to go for a more realistic scene after escaping the Guys In White. What with the tests and the anti-ghost rope as well as a million government agents chasing him down, I thought it had become a little too fake. Couples fight in real life and there's gonna be ups and downs, just like I promised in FWB. That was one of those down moments. :D Now time for an up moment! As for my dizzy spells...I dunno. They come and go and sometimes I see double, sometimes the world is hopping up and down...so I'm not quite sure. I work on this when I get the chance though, I really do. :( I hate it when I can't update regularly (I am traumatized from those horribly long hiatuses on FWB).**

**_Favorite Daughter Of Hades_- Nah, even when I'm giving them they suck. :D In fact, they suck BECAUSE I'm giving them! MUAHAHAHA!**

**_I'm. Only. Human. Dude._ - I know, I can hardly believe I did that! Originally she was going to flirt with Danny but stay really sweet toward Sam. She found the loophole in what he said. Yeah, with that much blood running out like that, he could've passed out or ever wound up in the hospital...having a blood transfusion. (and BAM secret is blown!)**

**_HeroAce_- XD Perhaps. I won't tell. lol You have great taste in the fine art of revenge. **

**_Inuyuke_- Well you just found out. :) Was it satisfactory?**

**_Thunber_- XD I know, I was smiling trying to hold back laughter as I imagined Danny acting like a little kid trying to get Sam to pity him and let him off the hook with the peroxide (peroxide doesn't hurt on scratches and stuff but when you pour it on a really deep wound like that it KILLS you).**

_**Another announcement for those who are willing to hear me out: my friend PlasticPencils has created two new stories, both for Danny Phantom and both DannyxSam (she loves that pairing just as much as I do and refuses to do anything but that). If you're interested, one of them is called Enough where Sam stops eating; the other is called Watch and lemme tell you, Danny is HILARIOUS in that one! XD Anyway, in Watch, Danny has waited too long to tell Sam how he feels and she's moved on; now they're twenty-two years old and Sam is dating other guys, which depresses Danny...and...*cracks up HARD* just see for yourselves, it is BEYOND funny! I promise you, you won't be disappointed (especially by Watch, that's my favorite one so far).**_


	21. Chapter 21

~Chapter 21~

About a month had passed at school and Danny was more on edge than ever. These ghost attacks were becoming so frequent it was worrying him about his family's safety. Sam, now she could look after herself, as could everyone else...except Danny Junior and Lilith. Danny Junior Manson and Lilith Brooke Manson. They were everything to him and he couldn't stand the thought of them getting a single scratch. For that reason he'd been carrying a cell phone on him all the time, every day, and only charged it at night when he was in the room with them.

Lately it had become hard to get to sleep, especially given how many ghosts attacked per night. Most of them would appear within a mile of his home, much too close for his comfort. Thankfully some of them were passerbys and were merely traveling or sightseeing. But whenever he felt a chill around him, he woke up with a start and jumped out of bed, immediately transforming and scanning the room. The window...that was where he always looked first. Then he would look in Sam's most hated spot, the darkest corner of his room. That evil place where the creepy shadow people went to hide from her imagination.

And all those ghosts, all those times he felt the need to protect his family, were taking a serious toll on his sleep patterns. During school hours he was half-dead, no pun intended. His brain had a hard time registering anything relatively boring. He was often caught napping around an hour or so before lunch.

"FENTON!"

Danny looked up to see Mr. Lancer sternly pointing a pencil at him. "Malaysia?"

"Dude, that has nothing to do with Astronomy," a voice beside him said. Tucker. "We're also taking a-"

"Mr. Fenton," Lancer began, "are you aware that you are in the middle of a test? Instead of daydreaming about Malaysia, I suggest you focus long enough to write down a letter!"

He dazedly looked down at the test in front of him. When and how did that get there...? And...how much time was left?! He snapped his eyes to the clock, finding that he needn't worry. It had only been a few minutes. There was still time. He could still do this, he just needed to buckle down and focu- The loud sound of probably Technus brought him from any of the little focus he'd managed to gather. But...wait, his ghost sense... It didn't go off. So the sound wasn't a ghost, so what was it?

A vibration on his thigh drew his attention. Oh...of course, the phone. It...wait...it was ringing. The phone was ringing! He quickly took it out and looked at the caller ID. Sam. He flipped it open and all but slammed it to his ear. He'd forgotten to answer it in the process.

"FENTO-"

"SHUT UP!" he screamed. This time it was his turn to point fingers. "Do you have any kids, Mr. Lancer?"

Not yet having gathered his bearings, the teacher slowly shook his head, jaw dropped and mouth wide open.

"Then would you please BE QUIET so I can MAKE SURE my CHILD is OKAY?!" he growled rather audibly.

He realized his mistake in not answering the phone and pressed the Answer button. His voice was the first to be heard.

"Sam! Are you okay? How is everyone? Is something wrong?!" he panicked.

Sam chuckled on the other end of the line. "No, sheesh."

He let out a sigh of relief and slowly lowered himself into his chair, his eyes becoming relaxed and half-lidded. "Okay. Sorry." He ran a hand through his hair. They were safe... His family was safe... They were okay, they were fine, it was alright... "So to what do I owe this unexpected call?" That might as well have made him jump out of his skin.

A girlish, high-pitched squeal rang in his ears. "I think I'll let our little lady tell you herself."

There was some shuffling before a slightly muffled, "Who's on the phone?"

No answer.

"Lilith, who's on the phone?" No answer. "Can you say it for Daddy? Tell him."

Clearly poor Sam was trying to get Lilith to say something but she wasn't having much luck. The little girl wasn't exactly responsive right now...

"Uh, Sam, you think this can wait? I'm kinda in the middle of a test." That he didn't know was on his desk until Tucker pointed it out to him.

"Lilith, tell him. Who do you love?" she continued.

And finally... "I love Daddy."

His jaw dropped and the widest grin covered his face. "YES!" he shouted as he raised a fist into the air. "I AM NO LONGER DODDY! Hey, hey, do it again, say it again. Please?"

Sam laughed and said, "Who do you love?"

"I love Daddy."

Biggest smile grew even bigger. He opened his mouth to say something but was immediately cut short by Mr. Lancer. Smile faded. Something about Astronomy and the test and Malaysia and just a whole slew of stuff that he really didn't want to hear right now. So while Lilith was still on the phone and listening...

"Daddy loves you too, sweetie, but he has to go now," he murmured before hanging up. It was the last thing he wanted to do to his little girl, but getting in trouble at school would be deadly if Sam found out about it. Although he _had_ warned her about the test so...maybe that made up for it...?

Lancer seemed to have heard him, every word he'd said, because his finger drooped down and his face softened as his eyes turned thoughtful. Almost...almost like he was daydreaming... Wait, were teachers capable of daydreaming? It didn't seem right on any level you put it on.

"Danny, meet me after school today. I would like to have a word with you," he mumbled.

Students all around the room were giving him strange looks, most of which he couldn't comprehend. Yup. He was definitely in trouble. And of course it didn't help that he'd yelled at his teacher. Nice... Very nice...

* * *

><p>At lunch, after making sure no Mosquitoes were in earshot, the halfa excitedly told his friend what had happened over the phone. And apparently Junior refused to go to sleep, which meant Lilith kept waking up. Sam wasn't coming today. It was a shame, really, because he was so excited about finally being promoted to a daddy. Their efforts had finally paid off.<p>

"That's great, dude, but if you want this to stay secret...lower the volume," Tucker advised.

Danny sheepishly smiled and said, "Right. Sorry. It's just, she's never called me that before. It was always 'doddy' and we still don't know why she kept calling me that. And more than that, my baby girl had two surprises in store for me today."

Tucker went unfazed by the 'baby girl' addition to the sentence. Danny did that from time to time, calling Junior his 'baby boy' and Lilith his 'baby girl'. Occasionally 'baby girl' was replaced by 'little girl'. Likewise, 'baby boy' would get replaced by 'little boy'. He also referred to them as 'my daughter' or 'my son'. It was official. He was a dad through and through. Now names and references like that came naturally to him, as though it was something he'd been doing and saying all his life. It was actually habitual for him now. And he couldn't, or didn't want to, or probably both, break that habit.

"What's the second surprise?" he asked. Two surprises in one day was a lot for such young children.

He smiled a non-sheepish smile this time and replied, "She said she loved Daddy."

The techno-geek playfully punched his friend's shoulder. "That's great, dude! It's about time Doddy got to hear that!"

"Ah-ah-ah!" he corrected. "It's _Daddy_ now. I am not a doddy, I am a daddy. As decreed by Lilith."

* * *

><p>He crept slowly into the classroom. School hours were over and the building was evacuated aside from a few stragglers, one of them being Mr. Lancer. And there he was, sitting at his test looking over today's tests. Danny had always wondered when and where the teachers graded their students' work. Now his lifelong question had been answered. Victory over school!<p>

"Um. Mr. Lancer, you wanted to see me?" he asked.

The teacher gestured to a nearby chair and the halfa pulled it up to the opposite side of Lancer's desk. Lancer neatly stacked all those papers and stuffed them away in a drawer.

"Yes, I did want to see you," he said, his eyes staring straight at the halfbreed, almost seeming to tear a hole into his very soul.

"I'm guessing I'm in trouble, huh? Look, I'm sorry about yelling at you earlier, I just-"

"Wanted to make sure your family was doing okay," Lancer finished. "Danny, I want to ask you something."

At the mention of his nickname, instead of 'Fenton' or 'Daniel', Danny shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Yes, sir?"

"Today, you stood against me, knowing I was of higher authority and knowing what the consequences would be. You even yelled at me."

"Okay, I'm sorry, I-"

"But it was all for the sake of your family. And that, Danny, is actually respectable."

"Uh... What do you mean?"

Mr. Lancer cracked a smile, his eyes not leaving Danny's. "You were being a father."

"Well...yeah... I have kids and they need me."

"Kids?" A look of interest crossed Lancer's face. "Every time I hear you talk about your family in class, you always refer to one child."

"Yeah, because Sam's life was pretty miserable here when she was pregnant. She didn't want anyone to know anything, so Tucker and I never told them anything beyond a kid."

"Then why are you now saying that you have 'kids' instead of 'kid'?"

"Sam gave birth to twins."

"And you've been helping her raise them, haven't you?"

"Yes. They're mine." Danny smiled with pride. "And they're the best things that ever happened to me."

"Mmm." Lancer looked up for a moment in thought and, without looking back down, asked, "What's it like, Danny?"

"Uh...what's what like?"

"To be a father, I mean. As you found out earlier, during your little fit, I don't have children. Not even a wife. I'm thinking about adopting though, and I couldn't help but wondering what it was like to father a child when I saw you stand up to me for the sake of your kids. And when you were on the phone worrying that something was wrong, it made me realize that a father has more duties to his family than I first thought," he explained.

Danny thought for a second. "It's hard being a dad. It's exhausting to come home every night knowing you have more important things to worry about than just your grades or homework. You have to balance time with your family and time with your studies. You have to work really hard to take care of them. And it's not easy to think about all the responsibilities you have. Even before they were born, I felt this urge to protect my children and their mother. And now they're in the big world and you watch them grow up. They're almost two now. Time's passed by quickly. And as a parent, it makes you miss those times when you could hold one of the twins without the other trying to trip you to get to the other. They weren't so sassy back then, and they wouldn't run all over the place."

"Hm. Sounds like a little too much work to be-"

"Fun?" Danny laughed. "No, it's fun. The twins run up to me and grab onto my jeans when I walk through the door. When I lay down on the floor, they climb on me and start playing with me and each other. They'll run away from me laughing and I'll chase them around, kinda like a game of tag exact you have to go slow so they can get away. I have to pretend not to see them when they try to hide and say something funny like, 'Oh no, I lost the twins! Where can they possibly be? Oh, Mommy isn't gonna like this...!' and they'll pop out of their hiding places and crack up like it's the funniest thing in the world. Then there's the peek-a-boo game, they love that. They're starting to say proper sentences and they'll tell us what they do and don't want. Turns out, kids really do say the darnest things. They've uh...they've found ways to embarrass Sam and me before. They're hilarious sometimes, it's like they'll team up against us, and don't ask me to specify that because it's not one particular thing."

Lancer nodded thoughtfully.

"I'm exhausted. But I'm happy. It's worth all the hard times, all the work you have to put into it. I never knew what my dad meant when he told me it was rewarding, but I guess you have to be a dad to really know. All in all, being a father is the best job in the world, even if you're not getting paid."

"You're awfully young to be raising twins. You could've left her like most teen fathers do."

"I've never even thought of doing that, but if I had thought about that, then I'm glad I didn't."

"You make it sound so easy, but from what I've heard, it's not."

"Then you've heard right. If I made it sound easy, then I didn't mean to. It's the hardest thing I've ever done."

"The _hardest_ thing?"

"Oh yeah. I didn't know what I was in for. But now I realize that I never needed to know. My mom told us that nothing could ever prepare us for what came with raising children. She was more right than she's ever been."

"Sounds more life-changing than I've heard about."

"It is. Before Sam was pregnant, I never would've imagined myself as a dad. But eventually, and don't ask why I was called this, I became a doddy. And today, I became a daddy. My daughter said so herself. And I have a son, her brother. I would give my life and more to protect them."

"You make it sound like they're your whole world."

"They are. And it feels great when I know they're okay. I've been edgy lately, which is why I panicked when I Saw that Sam had called me. I thought it might be something with her or the twins. Thankfully everything was fine; she only called to let me hear my daughter tell me, for the first time, 'I love Daddy.'"

"What would you have done if something was wrong?"

"Oh, I'd have burst through the window to get over there fast enough. If I was outside eating lunch, I'd flip over every table standing in my way."

"And what would you do if someone tried to stop you?"

His first thought was to say something about blasting them to bits with his ghost ray. But it wasn't exactly the best idea to reveal his secret, especially since nothing was happening that needed his attention. But if a ghost was stupid enough to come near right now... Oooohhh he or she was gonna get it but good!

"I'll do anything for my kids, Mr. Lancer," he said evenly. "I won't allow anything to stop me."

Not even the Guys In White. He'd stabbed himself with a scalpel, and then sliced himself up with said scalpel, because they had threatened his family. He was cooperative but it proved that he could get out, and did. Not even the government could keep him from his family and he would let nothing else keep him from them.

"One last question. How does it feel to be called 'Daddy'?"

He smiled at that one. "I'll admit you have to get used to it, but every time I was called 'Doddy', because 'Daddy' just happened today, I wanted to fly."

Lancer smiled in return and nodded once. "Thank you for sharing this with me, Danny. Anytime a matter involving your family comes up and you react as a father, like you did earlier today, I'm sure I could let it slide."

**A/N**

**Go to my profile. Copy/paste the link. ;) Enjoy.**

**I dunno, I think I wrote this because I wanted to tell you all myself exactly how Danny feels about being a dad, and what comes to his mind whenever he thinks about his family in danger. I was also tired of making Mr. Lancer so useless, plus he has no children so upon seeing a true father in action, I thought it was the perfect motivation for him to consider being a father himself and start thinking about adoption, but interrogating Danny before actually deciding on it yet. So...will Mr. Lancer adopt? ;) Pfft. Like I'll tell you.**

**Kind of a stale chapter but I was DYING to have Lilith finally call him Daddy, and I couldn't resist throwing in the "I love you!" part of it. :D TOO CUTE!**

**Anyhoo, review quota, two hundred ninety-four (294) reviews.**

**Review replies...can't do it this time. DX I'm sorry, it's just...my dizzy spells aren't gone yet and I'm exhausted and I just wanna get this thing updated... But thank you very much to all those who reviewed, and everybody PLEASE DO NOT FORGET THE POLLS.**


	22. Chapter 22

~Chapter 22~

A year. A whole year. It had passed by with flying colors and Danny couldn't believe the twins were three years old now. He had been there this whole time, watching them as they grew up, helping them grow up...but...it was so hard. Already three... They were walking, talking, understanding pretty much everything they heard. They spoke properly, unlike when they were babies. Potty training was still in progress, but...what happened to the days when they wore diapers instead of big girl and big boy potty training underwear...? The stench was gone, that was a good thing, but this was proving that the twins were needing their parents less and less as they grew older. What would happen during the teenage years, when they were capable of taking care of themselves? The only thing they would need from their parents at that point would be the driving aspect. And after they got their licenses... What would he do without them? And when Lilith got married, would he even be able to move his legs enough to walk her down the isle? And what would he say to Junior when he got married? What was he supposed to do, pat him on the back and say congrats on your new wife?

They were only three now, and he savored every moment, but they were still growing up. He didn't want them to grow up. Not yet at least. He wanted to be able to stay in the days when they would beg him for horsey rides and get super excited over a chocolate chip cookie. He didn't want that to go away...

"Danny!"

He drew a quick, sharp breath and jumped, nearly falling off the edge of the bed. Thankfully it was Sam. Unfortunately he could've died from the impact of the startle. Nobody ever really bothered him when he got deep into thought like that, but nicely done, Sam. You almost killed your boyfriend.

"Dove, you almost gave me a heart attack!" he yelled.

She smiled and pulled him off the bed. "Well if you're gonna have a heart attack, could you wait until I show you a surprise?"

He smirked. "I'll see if I can keep my heart beating. What's the surprise? Wait, Lilith didn't move on to calling me 'Dad' yet, did she? Because that's not a surprise, that's torture."

She laughed playfully. "No, she didn't. You've got awhile before that happens. Come on, I have something for you!"

"What is it?"

"Come on, Danny!" she exclaimed, grabbing his hand and yanking him forward toward the door.

She was...oddly excited. He honestly wasn't used to seeing her this way. Sure, she got really happy and sure, she got really affectionate...but she was never this smiley or hyper. Okay so maybe she wasn't _hyper_, but she was the next best thing, that's for sure. This was something big, this was definitely something big. And she said it was a surprise, and that she had something for him, so basically she was like this over a surprise for him. It was a big deal, it was his surprise...and...now what? What was it? It was something she clearly thought he'd love. He probably would, because it made her so happy if for nothing else.

She was actually panting as he let her drag him out the door to their house and all the way down the street. She wanted to be alone with him for this, he realized. Something big was gonna happen... Something big was definitely gonna happen... If she wanted to be completely alone...? And she'd fought ghosts with him enough to know her way around Amity Park, so she knew precisely where she was going. Question now was, where was she going? The way she was headed, it would turn right into the middle of the city and she would be able to go any which direction she wanted. So...he really wasn't able to figure out where she wanted to go. And that was pretty new considering he knew this place like the back of his palm.

She didn't head right to the middle of the city though. She turned left just before she hit that intersection. It only confused him more, and by now he could guarantee that confusing him was her purpose for dragging him around everywhere.

And after an hour, she stopped near the edge of the city, as far away from the house as possible without actually leaving Amity. Sam pulled him in an alleyway between two brick apartment complexes. It was surprisingly clean.

"Okay," Danny started, "what's going on, where's that surprise you were talking about?"

Sam waited for the next several minutes to catch her breath, during which time Danny took the chance to catch up on his own breath.

When she was done, she replied, "Close your eyes."

Being the obedient boyfriend he was, he closed his eyes. Being the curious boyfriend that he was, he listened closely to what she was doing. He couldn't make it out though. It sounded like she was holding a bunch of leaves in her hands. Maybe it was leaves. Maybe it was some kind of medicinal ghost plant that she'd found in the ghost zone. Yes, the ghost zone. She would go into the ghost zone whether he wanted her to or not, so long as someone acted as babysitter for the time being.

"Open them!" she squealed, her joy reaching his heart and filling him with excitement.

He opened his eyes to find two pieces of paper shoved in his face, nearly touching his nose. Excitement gone, confusion back. He took them and looked at the first one, quickly looking up at Sam first to make sure she was mentally stable. She seemed okay...just really excited... He lowered his eyes and examined the first paper. It was Lilith's birth certificate, he noticed. As he scanned over it, his eyes widened drastically. He had to say it aloud to truly register that it was there.

"Lilith Brooke Fenton."

And the next paper was Junior's birth certificate.

"Daniel Junior Fenton."

They had his last name!

"They have my last name!"

This was awesome!

"This is awesome!"

Clutching the papers tightly in one hand, he applied a bone-crushing hug to Sam.

How'd she do that?!

"How'd you do that?!" he squealed.

Although still excited, she calmed down. Probably from the lack of oxygen. "I'm eighteen and I have legal guardianship. I got their last names changed. Lilith and Junior are legally Fentons now."

"Wait..." He drew away from her. "What about your birth certificate? Won't they find it a little weird to know their mother is a Manson and their father is a Fenton?"

She slyly smirked. "Why don't we get to that later?"

Later...? Later how? What was she talking about?

"Did you change your last name too?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No. I'm still Manson. I only got their names changed."

What? Then how...? This had something to do with whole 'later' thing, didn't it? She didn't get...her name...changed... It was stupid to ask why, there was a reason behind it! She had seen his notebook and all that was in it. She knew he wanted a future with her. So basically...she knew he wanted to marry her. And if she said yes, if he married her, then her last name would be changed to Fenton. And marriage...that would come later. Later...just like she said. She had said yes even before he'd proposed. That was... Wow... He didn't know whether to be excited or stunned. There was no negative emotion here, and no neutral ones. It was all positive. But he was definitely speechless.

It didn't mean he was motionless though.

He bent his head down to kiss her. He'd grown taller than her, starting his growth spurts when he was fifteen, the same age that he found out she was pregnant, that he was going to be a dad, that he was going to be a dad to _twins_. He turned sixteen two months after they were born, during which time they both noticed he was getting taller than her. And he kept having growth spurts up until last year. He had stopped growing after that, having reached the height of six feet, three inches. The boy was tall. His dad wasn't even that tall. But his maternal grandfather was that tall, meaning he'd actually gotten the gene from his mother.

She grew as well, but not all that much. She was now around five feet, six inches. Needless to say, she was considerably shorter than Danny. She got the gene from her grandmother, or so she assumed. Her grandma was an inch above that height, so it stood to reason that she got it from her grandma.

She noticed, as she opened her eyes, that he was on the verge of tears. She figured he would be happy; she had no idea it would make him _this_ happy. She wondered if he knew he was about to cry. Probably not. But...then again, he might. She had shown her tears only to him, perhaps he would share his tears only with her. He was sensitive, even if he wouldn't admit it. He was susceptible to strong emotions, just like everyone else, but he could show it much differently. If he was angry his eyes would glow a harsh green. If he was sad he would slump over and become lethargic. If he was happy, like he was now, he would perk up and if he was super happy, again like he was now, he would cry, or at least refrain from crying. And right now it looked like he was overflowing!

She felt his hands wrap around her waist as he pulled her closer. In turn, she slowly moved her arms around his neck. Her thumb mindlessly rubbed the back of his neck and she could feel him tense up. He didn't do anything beyond that though, he didn't jerk away. But his mouth started to move away from her lips, planting tiny pecks on her jawline.

She smiled from the tickling feeling it brought, but before he could reach her neck, she grabbed his arms and pushed him off her. Not hard, and not far, but just enough so he could actually look her in the eye. A hurt expression flashed across his face, followed by an equally guilty one.

"Oh, geez...Sam, I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"Tell me something," she interrupted. It was probably for the better if he didn't finish his sentence anyway. He would've just embarrassed himself.

He looked away for a moment before nodding his head. "Alright."

She turned his head so that he had to look at her. "Do you remember the night I got drunk?"

He nodded again and shifted uncomfortably. "Hard to forget."

"I remember you telling me what I did, and you said I did stuff that made me look, and I quote, 'hot- uh, drunk.' What exactly did I do to make myself look 'hot- uh drunk'?"

He blushed a very bright red and wanted so badly to look away from her right now. He couldn't, though, because she would force his eyes back to hers.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about. I mean, that was obviously just a slip-up, everyone does it," he said, forcing a small laugh afterward.

"Slip-ups are one thing, but you're a guy, and according to what you said, I did a lot of things. Although honestly I'm still debating on whether to believe some of them or not."

"You...you just did some stuff. I-I don't even remember!" He cracked a weak smile.

"I'm not dropping this until you tell me. Would you rather sit here for the next hour or would you rather get it over with?" She smirked, knowing he would choose option number two. Well, hopefully. He could still be unpredictable at times, and this could be one of those times.

"Does it have to be _now..._?" he groaned.

"After almost kissing my neck, yes." Another smirk.

"That's what makes it awkward, and I didn't mean to go that far! I don't know what came over me, I just-"

"Danny..." she warned.

He sighed heavily. "Are you sure you want to know? Because keep in mind, I can't be held responsible for what you did."

"Tell me," she bluntly answered.

He sighed again. "The very first thing you did was come stumbling through the door saying you were in love with some guy you met at a party. You saw me and asked me if I wanted to have some 'fun'. You didn't even remember my name, I think you called me Mark. Yeah, Mark and some other name. What was it, Ken? Yeah. Yeah, you called me Mark and Ken."

"And calling you two different names made me look 'hot- uh, drunk'?"

"No, but it was frustrating. I corrected you both times and you still didn't call me Danny."

"I was drunk."

"Which is why it was frustrating."

"And did I really ask you if you wanted to have 'fun', or are you making that up?" She raised an eyebrow and eyed him.

He held his hands up defensively. "No! I'm not making it up, I swear! That was one of the embarrassing parts!"

"One of? So there's more, apparently."

Lots more, yeah. And how amazing was it that he had to tell her... He put his hands down.

"Well..." He took a breath, remembering all that had happened on that...erm..._eventful_...night. "I remember being confused as to why you'd been drinking, but I knew asking you wasn't going to help. And while I was lost in thought, you came up to me and ran a hand across my chest."

By now, she, too, was blushing. Part of her wanted to remember what happened on that night so she could look through her memories and see for herself, but another part of her was glad she didn't.

"You told me I looked 'awfully sexy' and I begged you to stop. Being drunk, you sorta didn't listen. You kept trying to seduce me." And truthfully, it was hard to resist.

"How?" she questioned.

"Okay...I won't lie, what you did made you look really cute."

"Danny, quit cutting out the details."

He ran a hand through his hair and continued, "You kept giggling and the way you smiled at me was just...I don't know how to describe it. It sparked something, that's for sure. You kept grabbing onto my shirt and hung off me. I didn't really know what to do at that point and you wouldn't let go of me. You suddenly kissed me and I was frozen there, I didn't know how to react. Then you took your shirt off and threw across the room. I, uh...I may or may not have fainted after that. Next thing I knew, you were on top of me. Thankfully you passed out before anything else happened. I picked you up and brought you upstairs to rest. And before you say anything, I _SWEAR_ I didn't do anything!"

Well that was uncomfortable. And it was the second time he'd told her she took off her shirt. Maybe that was true, maybe it wasn't. She was a little fuzzy on some of what he said. Even drunk, taking off her shirt just didn't sound like something she would do. And she didn't think anything happened that night. Well, on his part at least. On hers, however, there would have been something happening had she not passed out. And the fact that Danny managed to hold off for so long helped a ton to prevent something she would've deeply regretted. He _was_ there for her. He had _always_ been there for her...even if he didn't realize it.

That night she got drunk, he could've taken full advantage of her. He didn't. The way it sounded, he tried to stay away from her and make her stop. He was a guy and she understood that the situation could've been tempting, especially with all she'd done. But he acted more like a person with common sense and good intentions than a hormonal male seeking sex from a dazed female. And she had, on that night, _tried_ to get him to have sex with her. Maybe he didn't actually think about it, but something told her he knew that wasn't what she wanted.

...What would he have done if he thought she _did_ want that? It was an interesting thought...

"So, Danny, can I ask you one last question?"

He looked scared, like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "You have to believe me, Sam, I didn't do anything! I swear, I promise, I'm telling you the truth! Nothing else happened, I didn't do anything!"

"Danny, it's fine, stop rambling! I know you didn't do anything. I wouldn't believe you if you said you _did_ do something," she clarified. "Deep down, you knew I didn't want to sleep with you. What would you have done if you thought I did? That's my question."

**A/N**

**:3 Poor Danny. I brought up this scene because I can imagine how Sam felt about not knowing every little thing she did that night. I would feel the same way if I was in her shoes. Best. Cliffie. Ever. XD I love making people hate me over cliffhangers. ;D It brings me joy. So bring in the love. :D**

**I'm sorry this chapter was mostly dialogue... :( I wanted to put in more detail but all the detail was in the words of Danny and Sam (their attitudes, voices, and feelings)**

**I can't BELIEVE you guys went over 294! You actually went past to 304! :'D Thank you so much... And to think that I'd repay you with a cliffie that'll make you pull your hair out...or maybe even resort to the wall... :') You guys rock, feel free to give yourselves a pat on the back.**

**New review quota is three hundred fifteen (315) reviews.**

**Review replies (DEFINITELY earned 'em):**

**_LittleBoomBoom_- :3 It was! I smiled the whole time I was writing it.**

**_Guest_- Thanks. :D I meant for it to be one of those triumphant scenes but it turned out to be humorous so I didn't change it and left it be. I was actually considering taking it out but I figured, what the hay.**

**_ShadowDragon357_- Thank you, I'm glad you liked it. :)**

**_Lady Rae_- HEY HEY! HEY! Don't tell any ideas like that one! D: I was planning a scene where that happened but now I can't put it in... *pouts***

**_Mata_ _Nui_- :) Thanks, that's what I was shooting for. I shall! *salutes***

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**_Looka'sMagicHell_- lol 'Upgraded' to Daddy? XD Well, never heard it phrased that way before, but alrighty then. :3 Cute! Couldn't help but put in the 'I love Daddy!' part. I HAD to make Sam call him so he could hear that! **

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_**DON'T FORGET THE POLLS! I still change them out but this is your LAST CHANCE to vote on Poll #2! So please hurry if you haven't already voted because after the next chapter, the poll will be taken down and the answers will be finalized.**_


	23. Chapter 23

~Chapter 23~

He could only stare at her for the longest of times, trying to think of something that would get him out of this. What would he have done? _What would he have done?!_ He had a ton of hormones going haywire back then, he'd barely been able to control himself! He...he probably would've...well... He probably would've given in... She was right about one thing though: he knew she didn't really want that. She was just drunk, she had no idea what she was doing.

"Baby Blue?" she teased, dragging out 'Blue' in a singsong voice. Then, in a much more serious tone, "It's alright, Danny, no matter what you say, I won't get mad or upset with you."

"I...um...I would've..." He wracked his brain for something, _anything_, that would help him. But he couldn't find anything and only made himself look stupid by fumbling around, stuttering and rambling nonsense. "I-I...just...you know...and...I would...er, no, I...um...um...uhhhhh..." Brain fry.

"Danny, I'm your girlfriend of three years _and_ the mother of your kids." She no longer called them just 'her kids' unless a Mosquito spoke directly to her asking about the twins, in which case she would say something along to lines of, 'Why should I tell you anything about my child?'. But aside from situations like that, she always referred to the twins as his kids as well. She spoke to him as though he was the biological father, as though she had absolutely no problem saying 'your children' instead of 'the children' or 'her children'. And honestly, he might as well have been their biological father, the way he treated them, and she had no problem calling him their father...because that's who he was.

She continued before he had a chance to reply with more 'um's and 'uh's. "And if my memory serves me right, you actually wanted another baby."

"Uh...y-yeah, but that...that was just a spur of the moment kind of thing! And you said it was creepy anyw-"

"No it wasn't. Well, I mean, it's still sort of creepy considering taking care of twins is hard enough, but it definitely wasn't a spur of the moment. You put a whole lot of thought into that notebook and whatever four-year-old drew in it."

"First of all, _ouch_. Second of all, I didn't even want you to see that stuff... The only reason I showed you is because you thought I was cheating."

"Well I _did_ see it and let me tell you right now, Danny...if you ever want to marry me, you need to be honest."

He let out a breath, leaned against the wall, and looked at the ground. Everyone would rather have the truth but this was Sam. _His_ Sam. And she was backing him into the tightest corner in the world. Right now she wasn't asking for brutal honesty, right now she was _demanding_ brutal honesty. She wanted a very straightforward answer, short, simple, and to the point. She wouldn't take kindly to him trying to sugar-coat it or drag it out. And she would strangle him if he tried to get off topic by throwing in a bunch of unnecessary details. Plus, after what she said, about refusing to marry him if he didn't be open with her...it scared him. She wouldn't like the answer...but...

He sighed. Keeping her was more important than any level of embarrassment. "If that was what you wanted..." He hung his head in shame. "...then yes, I probably would've had sex with you..."

She shrugged casually. "Okay."

His head shot up and he couldn't help but wonder if she was plotting revenge or something. She didn't look like she was. All she did was stand there and stare at him. Not _glare_, just _stare_. It was as though she really didn't care that he had _just_ said what he did. Now he would be the one having nightmares.

"W-What?" he stuttered.

She shrugged again. "I said it's okay. I wanted an honest answer and I got one." She looked towards the horizon. "It's almost nighttime and your parents have probably already put the twins to bed. We should go home now."

He nodded and transformed, afraid that he might make things worse if he said something and she took it the wrong way. He picked her up and took off into the starting-to-get-starry sky. The ride home was unbearable. It was awkward, tense, and ultimately nerve-wracking. The halfa didn't know what Sam was thinking or how she felt... He really didn't know anything. If her little drunk night had happened before he started loving her, then he wouldn't have to have answered 'yes'. Guys messed up all the time but this...this was just... He gulped. This was bad. He messed up really bad this time... And this time he didn't know if he could ever make amends. Hopefully...hopefully she would forgive him. Hopefully she would find it in her heart to forgive Baby Blue. Or right now, Girly Green.

Why she chose to call him that, he would never know.

He turned them both intangible and phased through the glass window. The crib was no longer in their room; it had been moved to the guest room at Jazz's insistence. She had been ranting on about the children's need for a little more independence as they grew older. It took a few weeks for Sam to finally give in. It took two months for Danny to reluctantly say yes. Sometimes, though, he couldn't bear to be away from them for too long, so he made himself a pallet and slept in their room. He liked knowing they were okay and with his ghost powers, being in the room with them was comforting. They were safe with him.

He set the goth down and waited for whatever was coming to him. It would be bad, no doubt. Why didn't just turn invisible and scamper off back there, before he had to answer her? Now he was trapped in the same room with a girlfriend who was undoubtedly furious with him. She wasn't showing it at the moment but he knew she was fuming on the inside. He shouldn't have said anything. He should've risk facing a different kind of wrath. Her anger would be turned to his silence, not his thoughts of how sexy she was when she was drunk. She wanted him to answer her and he did, but now he was wishing he hadn't. After this was over, he would go beg Desiree to wipe Sam's memory. Unless Desiree, being another female, would take Sam's side and... He shuddered. Boys would be boys. Period. But girls...girls could be anything. That was more than enough to scare him.

Sam could be the sweetest, most loving person in the world at times. But she could be the darkest, most terrifying creature of the night at other times.

Right now all he could do was wait, watching her furrow her eyebrows in deep thought. She was probably deciding what she would do to him. Probably something...horrible and unimaginable. He kinda deserved whatever he got though... Chances were, he would've slept with Sam if she really did want him to. Being male was no excuse for thinking that way.

And it felt terrible! Of all people, and of all times, he chose to let his hormones buzz around inside him over _Sam_. _His_ Sam. While she was drunk! In love or not, that would be more than enough to make any girl think badly of him. And any other girl could think badly of him, except for Jazz, his mom, and Danielle, but not Sam. He didn't want Sam to think so lowly of him, but right now she did. So all that said, he deserved what was coming.

She seemed to have decided and looked up at him. There was an entire slew of emotions in her eyes and he couldn't pick any of them out. Scary...very scary. So scary that he was tempted to run out of the room and lock the door behind him, at least until she calmed down.

He mentally told himself to suck it up and act like a man.

In order to do that, he closed his eyes and waited.

He felt Sam put a hand on each of his shoulders and back him up against a wall. Hey...wasn't this the wall that the bed was touching...? Oh man...was she gonna try to suffocate him with a pillow? No, he had to keep his eyes closed. He couldn't make eye contact, that might aggravate her even more. Last thing he wanted to do at this point was aggravate her. Potentially fatal mistake, that one. Of course, he had already made a potentially fatal mistake years ago, on the night Sam was drunk. And then he _TOLD_ HER! What was wrong with him, why couldn't he just be a good boy for once?

He felt something press up against his lips but still refused to open his eyes. Was that...? Was she kissing him? No. She wouldn't be kissing him, not right now. If anything she was preparing to strangle him. This was not going to be a fun night for Danny.

She lowered herself back down. He'd almost forgotten that she was much shorter than him. She had probably been on her toes trying to kiss him. Or getting ready to release her wrath. Because Sam had wrath. A lot of wrath. He didn't want to be a victim of it. Nothing happened, didn't that count for anything?!

"Danny, it's not easy kissing someone the size of a basketball player, you have to work with me here," she said.

No anger. No disgust. No offense. Nothing. Nothing at all. He didn't do anything! Why was she doing this to him?! He was a good boy!

He obeyed, determined to stay as much on her good side as possible, and bent his head down.

"You know, you can open your eyes."

He wanted to but couldn't.

"Well...I guess that's optional," she mumbled.

She pressed herself up against him and put her lips back over his. He didn't have to open his eyes to know that this was easier for her. There was something weird though. Normally she would wrap her arms around his neck when she kissed him. Her hands gripped his forearms. Not his wrist, not his biceps, not his shoulders, not anywhere else. She had them smack in the middle of his forearms. That was unusual for any girl, he assumed. He had seen other couples kiss before and the girl almost always had her hands in one of three places: the face, the shoulders, or around the neck. But Sam...? What was going on with her, what was she doing? Or a better question, what was she _plotting_?

She kept her lips locked onto his as her hands moved gently down his arms, until she reached his gloves. There, she began to tug at them, almost as if she was asking permission to take them off. Why would she want to take off his gloves? Wait...she was planning on doing something to his hands, wasn't she? She had to be! Why else would she want to take off his gloves?! People would be laughing their heads off if they knew how scared he was of his girlfriend right now...

He reminded himself to get back in her good books and reached around her to take off his gloves. If anyone was breaking the kiss it was going to be her. If he was eventually able to open his eyes he would do so. And whatever she wanted, he would do it. Just so long as it let him off the hook. The hook that he probably would never be off of, but it was definitely worth a shot.

She allowed the faintest of smiles and moved her hands up to his shoulders. There. That was better. That was a good sign. Maybe it meant she was- Wait. Why in the world would she want him to take off his gloves before forgiving him? It made zero sense!

Her lips quickly moved from his, and landed on his neck. One hand stayed firmly on his shoulder while the other one ran across his chest. He opened his eyes but didn't move. Danny was picking up some signals but...she might be doing something else. He didn't want to do anything that made her uncomfortable. He also didn't know if she knew what she was doing. Well, sure, she knew exactly what movements she was making, but he could be wrong about her intentions.

When he told her about what she did when she was drunk...um...she was mirroring it now. Suddenly kissing him, running a hand across his chest, hanging off him... The only thing she was missing was-

"C'mon, Mark, wanna have some fun?"

-that.

Just to be sure... "I-It's Danny."

"You look awfully sexy right now."

Strong signals...but at least she didn't call him-

"Ken."

Oh dang.

He looked at her. Her head was still buried in his neck. Somehow she had managed to move some of his hair, letting strands of white obstruct half his vision. She didn't sound mad, and that had to be the worst part. Truth be told, he didn't know whether she was actually ready for this. He didn't want it to be something she would later regret. But he knew even back before she started hurting herself that she would be ready again one day. He just never expected it to be this day. Or maybe she wasn't ready for it. Maybe this was just because he told her about her drunken actions.

"Sam...um...a-are you sure you're ready for something like...y-you know..._this_?" he asked.

She pulled her head back and looked him in the eye. "Why else would I ask you what I did when I was drunk?"

"I just don't want you to do anything you'll regret..." he mumbled, realizing now that when she'd asked him about that, she'd wanted to know what turned him on.

She laughed. "I won't regret this!" Turning serious, she continued, "You've done a lot for me and the kids. If I can trust you with my life, I can trust you with anything."

"What about the whole 'premarital sex' thing? I thought you were against it. You were saving yourself for someone special," he said.

She rolled her eyes and moved over to his backpack on the other side of the room. She unzipped it and rummaged around, eventually pulling out a notebook. As she came back and shoved it in his hands, he realized that this was his notebook about their future. Or at least the future he wanted with her. She turned the pages for him until she reached the two wedding rings. She tapped at them.

"You _are_ someone special, Danny. How many other fifteen-year-olds would take on the role of a father to twins that weren't his? And even if they did, how many of them would stay with the mother no matter what she did? And if _that_ happened, how many of them would treat those twins as if they were his all along?"

He looked at her.

"You're the only one who would do that," she finished.

He kept quiet, only blinking, expecting her to say something else.

And she did have more to say. "Do you remember, at the beginning of my pregnancy, when I hated the thought of a baby?"

He nodded.

"I didn't want them, but you did. Even after finding out I was pregnant with twins, you acted like it was the most natural thing in the world. You acted like you didn't care how many there were."

He nodded again. "Yeah, because I didn't care. I was actually looking forward to it. The only problem was that you didn't want them. I was afraid you wouldn't love them. I thought you would give them away once they were born and I would never see them again. So...I didn't really know what to do. I wouldn't have cared if they were _quintuplets_, I still would've wanted them. I was really excited about twins, actually, but I acted like it was nothing so you wouldn't feel pressured. Back then, they weren't mine, they were yours, so it was all up to you on what to do with them. I was hoping you'd keep them." He smiled. "I'm glad you did."

"I'm glad I did too. No one else would've done what you did."

He shrugged. "Well...I didn't really do that much."

"Biggest liar on the planet," she whispered in his ear.

He snapped his head around. "I'm not a liar!"

"You saved my life, which means you also saved the twins' lives. And on more than one occasion," she replied.

"When?"

She cleared her throat, preparing to give him the answers he probably wasn't expecting, or had forgotten about. "You gave me a place to live when my parents kicked me out. When that man grabbed me and held a knife to my throat, you got me away. And let's not forget about the time I would've bled to death if you weren't there."

He winced at the memory of opening that door to find her unconscious and bleeding. It was one of his worst memories, and he had regretted going down to fix some veggies. He shouldn't have left her alone, especially when he knew she had a hangover. Not a big one, but enough to depress her. She was depressed about her rape, the babies, and getting drunk to begin with. Her hangover had probably strengthened all that, so that would've been six times the sadness she normally felt. He shouldn't have left her alone like that.

"You've done a lot, and now that I'm ready, I can finally give something back." She smirked. "_Girly Green_."

They were emerald, they were glowing emerald. They weren't 'girly green'. Plus, he was a boy, not a girl. To say the 'green' part of it was fine but to put 'girly' at the beginning? Come on! That was just...embarrassing. It wasn't like she owed him anything but at least she was willing to make up for those terrible cracks about his eyes.

"So," he started, "if I do this..." He leaned over and pecked her neck, lingering around for bit, waiting patiently for a response.

"So if you do that and stay there, that white fur on your head gets all in my face," she said.

"You mean my negative hair?"

She laughed as he rubbed the top of his head against her cheek. "Oh, gross! It's getting in my mouth!" She spat out little strands of his hair.

He moved his head away from her face. "Oh, you love my hair! But don't worry, it understands. _Everybody_ loves the hair."

"Yeah, I'm sure," she played sarcastically. "All the ladies swoon over it."

"Danny Phantom has all the women longing to stroke his amazing hair." He cupped his hands above his hair, making it look like he had a halo.

"I don't care how amazing your hair is, I better be the only one allowed to touch it," she shot back.

He wrapped his arms around her. "You know you're dying to touch it."

She rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless. "It's my greater goal in life."

"How thou hath wounded me, my love!" he responded to her sarcasm. He dropped his head onto her shoulder, as if he'd just died.

To humor him, she scratched the back of his neck. "Get off me."

"I thought you wanted me on you," he mumbled into her ear.

"Not when you're playing dead," she retorted. "And aside from that comment you just made, you haven't done anything."

He smirked. Not yet, he hadn't.

**A/N**

**What took so long? Hm, fair question. OVERFLOW of ideas! I couldn't cram them all into one chapter. Anyway, I stopped there because I don't feel very comfortable writing that kind of stuff. You'll see why this is important though. Danny will undergo a personality change next chapter, so be prepared for that. And that chapter after that will bring out a new side of him that we haven't seen yet. Although to be fair, I put in plenty of foreshadowing (dating back to the original FWB [I'm rewriting it, which is why I say 'original']).**

**The chapter after next wasn't my idea. :) I honestly think it's genius, and I couldn't resist using it. Before any of you say something, I DO have permission. Although I'm the one who will write it out, the actual credit (because that chapter wouldn't exist without her) goes to _Favorite Daughter Of Hades_. :) So you can thank her for a very good chapter coming up.**

**Review quota, there isn't one. :( Long wait and I'm sorry, so there's no quota. Review at your own will.**

**Review replies, however, will be here:**

**BooksAreMyVideogames- :3 Awww!**

**sammansonrepilica- Wow, never seen someone say they liked a cliffie. :P**

**ALIKAT131- Thanks. :) I try on them. How's my writing inspiring to you? :/ I personally don't like it (another reason I'm rewriting FWB). Well now, I can't tell you whether Sam's parents come back in. The poll, however is now up because the answers to poll 2 have been finalized. Only poll now is poll 1. Still a chance to vote on that.**

**Favorite Daughter Of Hades- :3 You rock, and I've been planning out the outline for that particular chapter.**

**Inuyuke- Nice theory. :) I might actually change what people think it is... And yeah, the two newest (legal) Fentons! :D**

**ChristinCC- I know, so cute! ^.^ Thanks!**

**I'm. Only. Human. Dude. - Me too. But now you know the reason she asked. **

**LittleBoomBoom- I know, I couldn't help putting that in! :P Aw, thanks. :)**

**HeroAce- :/ No, no time skip. Obviously there will be time skips in this story but not yet. The twins are three, they won't know what he's talking about. Although I do plan on making him ramble on about ghosts in the future. :) And did anyone notice that he's the only person in the family (aside from the twins of course) who still doesn't know Sam was raped?**

**TheNinjaKitty13- Thanks! :D**

**La Reyna Phantasma- Well then I have allowed romantic action in this chapter. :) Best of both worlds.**

**Sdgcat- I will. I promised I would finish this story.**

**_Poll 2 for FWG has officially been taken down. Answers have been finalized. You still have a chance to vote on poll 1 so if you haven't done that yet, I urge you to._**


	24. Chapter 24

~Chapter 24~

Something between a screech and a buzz startled the two awake. It was complete and utter blackness outside.

Because Danny was known for scornfully ripping out the alarm clock and throwing it across the room, Sam had moved the nightstand out of his reach. He had two choices: either let the alarm keep echoing in his ears or get up to turn it off. He got up but never really turned it off. He would hit the snooze button and get back in bed, only to have the alarm go off again five minutes later. Sometimes he repeated his little routine three times before finally giving up and actually turning it off.

He groaned behind her and buried his head into his pillow, as deeply as it would go. As the little thing continued screaming, she felt him roll over and prop himself up on one elbow.

"No ghost rays," she said, her eyes still shut. He'd blown up alarm clocks before.

He grumbled something to himself and plopped back down, obviously not eager to get out from under the covers. He'd made a little cocoon and it was nice and warm. Outside was cold and bleak and he didn't want to emerge like a butterfly. Because if he did, he certainly wouldn't look, feel, or act like one.

"Why'd you move it all the way over there?" he whined.

She turned to face him. His back was to her but she knew he was glaring at the clock. "Because you do horrible things to your alarm clocks when they don't shut up." She propped her self up and peered over him to see the small, faint scorch mark on the nightstand from the violent death of the previous clock. "Go turn that thing off."

He lazily reached out, having no success in touching the snooze button. "Mmmmm...can't reach it..."

"Then get up, Girly Green."

He sighed in defeat and reluctantly sat up. The evil little thing wouldn't stop making noise... He prepared another ghost ray from his finger and aimed it at the clock.

"No," Sam reiterated, her voice stern and commanding.

Sighing again, he put down his hand, got up, walked three unfair feet to the nightstand, and hit the snooze button.

She shivered as he slipped back under the covers, his reduced body heat chilling her. He snuggled up against her and pushed himself all the way beneath the covers. All she could see left was a few white tufts of hair. He lay comfortably in the warmth of the cocoon for five more minutes. Everything was quiet and peaceful...

Something between a screech and a buzz went off again.

He groaned.

* * *

><p>"Mr. Fenton!"<p>

Danny's head shot up from his desk. "Sixteen over pi!"

Thankfully, he hadn't been the only one to fall asleep in class. Unfortunately, he was the one who had attracted the teacher's attention. Couldn't pass this one off as 'acting like a father'...

"Dude, we're not talking about math!" Tucker whispered to him, his words not escaping Lancer.

"Mr. Foley is right. My classroom is not a napping spot for teenagers!"

Excuse, excu- Wait...

The halfa put his hands up defensively. "Sorry, Mr. Lancer. My child stayed up really late for some reason. Sam and I had our work cut out for us last night. We missed out on a lot of sleep. We're kind of tired today."

It wasn't exactly a lie, especially with that forsaken alarm clock. Sam forced him to get up earlier than he should, even on Saturdays. She kept saying he needed to get in shape for college. He also had an ACT coming up; two weeks from now actually. At least when he got to blow up the clock, he felt better and more awake. No, not this time with Sam as tired as she was. It would be really fun to blow that awful thing up. Payback for screaming at him.

And it probably wasn't one of her better ideas to 'want' him during the school week. So she was partly to blame. Partly. And he would never admit to that. At least not to her. Actually, not to anyone. Love life wasn't exactly the kind of thing you went around talking about.

As for Lancer, he couldn't help but notice that his student had once again referred to a single child, and had not given anyone a clue to its gender. Sam didn't want anyone to know anything, or so he had told him. He was a very dedicated person. The teacher knew he was a good father to his children despite how young he was. And somehow he made it seem so easy even though he'd clearly stated that it was hard.

"I'll let it slide..." Mr. Lancer muttered, pretending to be annoyed for the sake of the rest of the class. After all, if an eighteen-year-old could cover the tracks of twins of opposite genders, he could help out a little bit. It was the least he could do for a young father who had been willing to work all the harder for his kids.

* * *

><p>Lunchtime, at long last. Everyone was still ravenously piling slop onto their trays...except Danny and Tucker. They had been two of the first people to take off in the epic life-or-death race to the cafeteria. It paid off, and they placed in the top five. That feeling of accomplishment, the one you get when you see the line behind you and not in front of you, was amazing. It was satisfying to know that Dash had been too slow. He was now stuck all the way in back.<p>

Thanks to being in the top five, they got to choose their table, which wasn't usually the case since they were classified as geeks and losers. However, even with the privilege of table options, they chose their usual table near the edge of school grounds. This allowed Sam to help spy and shoo away Mosquitoes. It also forced Mosquitoes into more open areas, where they would, needless to say, be more easily spotted.

Valerie was never actually considered a Mosquito. Like everyone else, she did have unanswered questions about the 'baby', but unlike everyone else, she didn't want to know just so she could go blurting it out to the whole school. She asked merely out of curiosity and nothing else. Sam held a grudge against here, though, because she was still the Red Huntress and thus, Danny Phantom was still having to avoid another enemy wanting to skin or dissect him. In the process, he would be exposed. So Sam had her under the classification among the Mosquitoes, and she still didn't want Valerie to know anything.

"Hey, guys!" Sam's voice rang moments before she sat next her boyfriend.

Almost immediately, Danny leaned over to kiss the goth. He didn't seem to realize Tucker was sitting right across from them, and unfortunately he failed to notice that the kiss was a little more passionate than he intended. But Sam didn't seem to object.

Tucker cleared his throat, obviously a little uncomfortable. "The broom closet in the school probably isn't occupied," he said suggestively.

The halfa's eyes shot open and he pulled away. "Sorry, Tuck. Just tired is all."

"From last night?" he mumbled, making sure no Mosquitoes were around to hear it.

He bit his lip and looked over at Sam. Her cheeks were reddening and she was probably on the verge of biting her own lips.

She laughed nervously. "Uh, I'll be right back. I'm gonna go get a drink."

Once she had disappeared in the crowd of students still buzzing around the kitchen area, Tucker eyed his friend. Thoroughly. Unnervingly. Knowingly.

"I can't believe this," he said after about two full minutes of staring his friend down.

"Can't believe what?" Danny asked. "You know how little ones can be, and the twins wouldn't-"

"Dude, you _did_ Sam!" he quietly yelled, trying to keep his voice down.

The halfbreed couldn't help but look away and try to focus on his face turning into a tomato rather than his friend's accusations. "I-I didn't-"

"Okay, first of all," Tucker said as he began listing off the evidence, "you practically attacked Sam as soon as she sat down, and you've never done that before. Then you kissed her, which is fine, but the _way_ you kissed her wasn't something I've ever seen you do. Then, she didn't punch you when you did it. And finally, she's got a hickey on the front of her neck...the _lower_ part of it, right above her collarbone. Mind telling me what that's about?"

Everything inside him turned to ice and he felt something drop down into his stomach. Sam would kill him if she heard what Tucker had just said... And the fact that he gave her a hickey... He didn't even notice it! Obviously she didn't either, otherwise she wouldn't have worn a V-neck to school. Was it really that noticeable? Then again, he was called Clueless One for a reason. Of all the times to be clueless...! And of all the things to overlook! At least he could've passed off the kiss as something else but when it was combined with a hickey...

"Didn't think so," Tucker grunted.

**A/N**

**:( I feel so bad about this chapter AND making you wait so long for the darn thing only to find a short skimpy lil' chapter with a really crappy ending. I swear, I've spent like a whole week trying to get ideas into my head but nothing's coming! I'll have to do a time skip and get onto the next chapter... *sigh* Sorry, everyone...**

**If you noticed that Danny was still Phantom when the alarm went off, that's because he was Phantom when he went to sleep. And in the show, Danny changes back to Fenton ONLY if: 1. he does it purposefully (such as after he's done fighting a ghost), 2. he's too weak to maintain his ghost form. So he can go to sleep as Phantom and stay that way without changing back. That's why he woke up as Phantom instead of Fenton.**

**RRRGH! Youtube and fanfiction, the two sites I get on most, WON'T MAKE UP THEIR MINDS ON WHAT THEY WANT FOR THEIR SITES! Why can't they just go back to how everything was before? Like when there was a "review" button on fanfiction, and the summaries weren't inside the story (now it makes some of the older stories look stupid because the authors put in the summary), and there was no cover photos! The cover photos get me the most because now everyone searches for a picture that catches their eye, whereas you couldn't do that before. People had to look at the summaries to decide whether it was something they want to read, and they would look at ALL the stories, not just the ones with the pretty pictures. It's really unfair to the authors who don't have pictures that everyone likes or ones that won't properly fit the story.**

**And then youtube...! What the heck? They got rid of the 5-star rating system? And when you look through your playlists it now takes you to the video page? And now I can't message anyone except through videos?! **

**STOP CHANGING YOUR STUFF, JUST GO BACK TO THE WAY THINGS WERE AND STOP ANNOYING PEOPLE!  
><strong>

**Excuse my tantrum. :l**

**Well, no review quota but remember about the poll! It's still open, still on my profile, and obviously still accessible. Please vote if you haven't already.**

**Review replies (for those of you who are catching up on the new version of Flowers Will Bloom, I'm SO sorry that I forgot the replies!):**

**_Sdgcat_- I don't either, which is why it made me uncomfortable, and why I wouldn't go into much detail. **

**_LittleBoomBoom_- XD I was going for a nice Shakespearean tone. ;) Someone's doing well in his English courses. And thanks!**

**_xLa Reyna Phantasmax_- *whistles* Hyperactivity...never gets old. :)**

**_Alisi Thorndyke_- Better late than never. lol! Well yeah, the first time she shared a real (sorta, I guess) kiss with him was when she was drunk and called him anything but his name. XD Poor lil' guy. **

**_AJ_-It's fine. :) And thanks! Danny's personality change (thanks to my dysfunctional head) wasn't very obvious or noticeable, but he's now willing to get more physical with Sam and not be shy around her in public. He used to hug her and kiss her but the hugs were loose and the kisses were more like little pecks on the lips. Now the hugs will be tighter and the kisses stronger. I don't think your nuts. Whenever I review a story (which is rare for me cuz I'm usually too busy working on my own stories) I end up talking to the characters.  
><strong>

**_ShadowDragon357_- XP I know, I was enjoying myself, writing about him being scared half to death. Thanks!**

**_I'm. Only. Human. Dude._- :D One of my favorite parts was him playing dead. :3 They are! So fluffy!  
><strong>

**_sammansonrepilica_- She is. Well I figured she wouldn't simply stay away from Danny (in that sense) forever, and it's been a LONG time. Plus he's been doing everything he possibly can for her and he's never once tried anything. So she was never pressured to do something she knew or thought she wasn't ready for. It gave her time to move on from what happened and mature certain aspects of her life, both romantically and physically. And yes, I do think that's the proper healing process too because it lets them see that sex isn't a bad thing.**

**_Favorite Daughter of Hades_- Thanks! :) Your chapter's up next. ;)**

**_PlasticPencils_- :P HOW did I know you were gonna mention that line? Of course he is, he's Danny. XP**

**_Inuyuke_- Oh boy, you got overexcited. *readies tranquilizer* Stay still, this oughtta mellow you out.  
><strong>

**_ChristinCC_- Thanks and thanks again. :D**

**_puppets4ever_- Thanks! I will!**

**_princessbinas_- LOL! Why's he an idiot? **

**_Looka'sMagicHell_- Cuz he's Danny. ;)**


	25. Chapter 25

***Be sure to thank _Favorite Daughter of Hades_ for this chapter. This was her idea, I just wrote it out.**

~Chapter 25~

Preschool day…already… The twins were three, they were old enough…and Sam was forcing him to say goodbye to his little babies. And they weren't babies anymore…! They were already out of the car, already standing by their parents' sides waiting to be encouraged and sent off to preschool. Where did the time go…

"Mommy, I don't wanna go!" Junior cried, burying his head into his mother's leg.

She bent down to console him.

Lilith, on the other hand, was curious as heck and was more than ready to burst through those doors and explore the place. She was a handful, this little one. She kept pacing around her parents, just _dying_ to be set free. Danny didn't want to let them go…not yet. Junior and Lilith were his little babies, his little girl and little boy. He swore to protect them and that's what he wanted to do. There were always mean teachers at schools, and this was a school. What if they bumped into a teacher who was mean, who didn't like kids and only taught for the money? No, he didn't want them to be taught by someone like that! But according to Sam, he had to 'shut up and help see them off'.

He sighed as he watched his baby girl circle him, keeping a very excited eye on the door. She wasn't even looking at him… She was growing up, as was her brother. They were still in the horsey ride phase, but this just proved to him that they would grow out of it. And he was nervous right now, probably more nervous than Junior, who was still clinging tightly to Mommy.

He didn't want them to go…but…it had to be done…

"I don't want her to be around any boys," Danny said. "Is there like an all-girls classroom or something?"

Sam all but laughed hysterically. "Danny! She's three! Who cares if she's around boys right now? That comes a _lot_ later, trust me. Right now it'll be all yuck and cooties. I wasn't interested in boys until I was twelve-"

"TWELVE?!" he screeched. "SHE'S NOT DATING AT TWELVE!"

The goth rolled her eyes and turned back to Junior. Danny, on the other hand, kept an even more watchful eye on his daughter and inwardly frowned at the thought of her twelfth birthday. Junior was very dependent and wouldn't leave his mother's, or his father's, side for a long time to come, but Lilith was already raring to go. She was independent, bold, brave… Basically, she was everything her mother was. That was bad news for him…

"Daddy, I wanna go now!" She looked up at him and pouted, folding her arms as if to prove a point.

"No, not yet," he said. "Not until your brother's calm enough to go with you."

At this comment, she quickly turned and pulled Junior off of Sam.

"Come on, we have to go to the big building!" she told him excitedly. Looking back up at Danny, she asked, "Can I go now?"

At first he wanted to protest, to make up some excuse as to why she couldn't leave yet, but he shut his mouth as soon as he saw Sam's warning glare. Junior was calm now, ironically enough, and Lilith was still eager to get going. She was excited to meet her new teacher and she was _very_ excited to make new friends. The only other child she had ever been around was her brother, and although they got along very well, they still had that sibling rivalry that was all too familiar to Danny. Sam couldn't understand it because she was an only child, but Danny had been fighting with his sister since he was old enough to talk. As he and Jazz grew up, though, they grew out of the constant bickering. They still butted heads, but not nearly as much as they used to. The twins weren't like that. They had their squabbles, just like every sibling did, but Junior was more submissive toward his sister and Lilith was usually the one taking charge of things. Danny couldn't help but wonder if he was teaching Junior to be shy. Lilith definitely got her attitude from her mother. Just what he needed…a mini Sam.

He shuffled nervously and knelt down to the twins' level.

"Alright, but before you go, you have some rules to follow," he said.

"Daddy!" Lilith groaned.

"Don't 'Daddy' me, you do what I tell you. Don't eat in class unless the teacher says it's okay, don't be mean to anyone, share your toys, and stay away from boys!"

The girl quickly looked at her bother and pulled her hand back, releasing him from her grasp.

"No, your brother's fine. I mean the _other_ boys. Oh, and make sure you do what the teacher says. That means taking a nap when it's time to take a-"

Sam flicked the back of his head and he frowned. "Okay, okay. I'm done with the rules…" He held his arms out. "Before you go, you have to give Mommy and Daddy a hug." Sam knelt down with him and held her arms out.

Lilith excitedly jumped into her dad's arms and gave him a quick hug and kiss before taking off, dashing for that door like there was no tomorrow. Junior didn't do that. He gave them both their hugs and kisses but still lingered around. Sam had to coax him into going in with his sister. Danny quickly whispered, right before he left, to make sure Lilith stayed away from boys. After that, Junior reluctantly walked through the door. They were both gone, just like that, in the blink of an eye. And Danny hated it. For someone who had been raising them every day, with no daycare or separation other than high school, it was like seeing your favorite flower wilt. It was painful and hard to watch…

The goth put a hand on his shoulder. "They'll be fine, Danny."

"I don't like this," he admitted. "I don't want them to go just yet."

"Well, they'll have to sometime," she replied, chuckling lightheartedly. "How are they going to function in the real world if they never even get through preschool?"

"I don't want them to go to the real world yet!"

"Danny. They're three," she reminded him.

He looked at her with sad eyes. "Yeah. They're already three."

"Look at it this way, would you rather change diapers or get to see them learning new things at school?"

"I would rather change diapers," he answered. "They're our kids, Sam; we're their parents. We're perfectly capable of teaching them ourselves."

She sighed. "How will we do that? You're still in high school, have yet to go to college, and even without school, you fight ghosts. I had to drop out of high school; I'm not qualified to teach them anything beyond their ABCs."

"My parents could help. They both went to and graduated college, they have a job-"

"_And_ they told us they wouldn't parent the twins. That's us, Danny, that's all us. I know you hate seeing them on their own for the first time and I know it hard for you to let them go, even if it's just preschool. It's hard for me too. You think I want them gone for a whole day? We _are_ their parents, Danny, but do you know what parents are there to do?"

He only looked at her.

She continued, "Parents are there to help their kids grow up, prepare them for what's coming. We can still teach them things, but not completely academic. Think about the good things when they're older."

"Like what, watching Lilith date?" he muttered.

"Okay, first of all, you have a _very_ long time before that happens. But, Danny, think about it for a second. Who's gonna teach the kids how to ride their bikes? Who's gonna teach them how to use cookie cutters? The little things like that can add up to a lot in the future. I don't like seeing them go any more than you do, but this is our job. If we're going to do it, we need to do it right."

He kicked at the ground and sighed in defeat. "Yeah…"

The goth gently took his arm. "Lancer's not gonna give you much more time to get to class. You better go."

Oh, that's right… He'd told Lancer to start class later because there was something he had to do. He didn't bother to tell him about the twins' first day in preschool because he was already on his way there, but his teacher agreed, keeping up his promise about 'letting it slide' whenever he acted like a father. Sam was right though, acting like a father wasn't an excuse for being late. Plus, he needed to keep good attendance. With all the ghosts around, being on time was difficult. The sooner the better.

He got in the car and drove Sam home first before getting to school. School…filled with hallways upon hallways of Mosquitoes. How very fun.

He parked, got out of the car, and entered Mr. Lancer's classroom, taking his usual seat beside Tucker. This school wasn't the preschool and he didn't like it. For the first time, his kids weren't in a familiar environment. Now he knew why Sam wouldn't let them attend a daycare center. Back when they were _baby_ babies, still in diapers and not undergoing any form of potty training, she was extremely protective of them and refused to let anyone but people who were close to her touch them. She probably didn't like seeing them off either, but she was right in the fact that they needed to learn and grow. Their parents couldn't take care of them forever, and they would eventually have to start doing things on their own. It didn't mean Mommy and Daddy couldn't be there for them, but they would become more independent as time passed and he just wasn't ready for that.

The geek leaned over and tapped his shoulder. "Dude, you okay?"

He hung his head. "My baby's growing up… I hate this…"

Lancer approached them and eyed Danny for a moment before saying, "I'm assuming a family matter came up in the time you were gone?"

The halfa didn't answer, but let his head drop onto his desk.

Tucker answered for him. "First day of preschool."

"Did something happen at preschool?" the teacher continued, obviously confused.

"He's just nervous, Mr. Lancer," Tucker said.

Lancer took another quick look at Danny. He did seem tense and uneasy. He was, even if he didn't know it, acting like a father again. From the way it sounded, his children had never been to a place he was unfamiliar with, and he wasn't very likely to be familiar with a preschool. Of course, it might not be _just_ the new place that bothered him. These were his babies, and he loved them. They were three now, and growing up. When they had talked about the twins, Daniel told him he missed the days when he could hold one of the twins without the other almost tripping him. He'd said that it was hard watching them grow up so fast. That must've made preschool all the harder for him. Lancer assumed he would be down like this for the next few days.

Maybe adoption wouldn't be such a good idea after all. Lancer was single and worked all day. He had considered adoption nevertheless. But upon seeing young Daniel now, on the day his twins first set foot on the preschool grounds, it made him realize that having a child was a rollercoaster of events that he would be unable to control. There were obviously good times as well, though, or else Daniel wouldn't have mentioned all the games he played with his kids.

It sounded fun and relaxing when he thought about the playful part of it, being able to hear the joyous laughter of a happy child. However, he had taken into account that it was much more work than he had first thought. Daniel certainly knew the responsibilities to his family, and he had performed them without fail. It would be easy to think that if a teenager could do it, a teacher could too. But seeing how drastically Daniel's behavior had changed since he became a parent proved otherwise. Raising a child forced a change in a parent, as demonstrated quite well in the young boy. Lancer wasn't sure he was ready for that.

However, he understood that there were good and bad moments that came with rearing children. Now he saw clearly what it was and what it really meant.

"Will you be alright, Mr. Fenton?" the teacher asked, in all solemnity.

The boy weakly nodded his head. "Once I see my child again…"

Lancer noticed that Daniel had, again, said 'my child' and not 'my children'. He also refused to reveal the genders, or gender as far as everyone else knew. This had to be the reason they all kept pestering him and his friend during lunch. It was the perfect revenge, driving the other students mad like that. Ms. Manson had been unbearably miserable here and who's to say what could've happened to her if her friends weren't there to comfort and support her? From the way things seemed, she had taken on the role of motherhood. The teacher wondered if she was a good mother to those two children. Having been so badly treated while pregnant with them, it was possible that she could have negative feelings towards them.

Well, whatever the case with their mother, their father did his level best to raise them. He was so young, this boy, yet he still stayed by Ms. Manson's side and fulfilled every duty to his family. His efforts, and successes in those efforts, were honorable. He did well as a father if what he said about it being the hardest thing he'd ever done was true.

Young Daniel's friend, Tucker Foley, reached an arm over to him and grasped his shoulder. "Hey, man. It'll be okay."

Danny's head shot up, but his downcast expression remained the same. "I don't even know the teacher! Do you have any idea what it's like to send your kid off _alone_ into a place you've never been to before?! I don't know what it's like in there! I don't get to know until preschool ends!"

"Dude, calm down. It's just preschool. And since it's the first day, it ends at like 1:00pm," Tucker said.

The boy groaned. "That's almost four hours away…"

The techno-geek patted his friend on the back. "Everything's gonna be fine, just take it second by second. Time will fly by and you can see your kid again."

"Says _Uncle_ Tucker… You're not a dad, you wouldn't know."

"I'm not a dad, but I care about the tw-" Tucker halted when he realized what he had been about to say. He corrected himself before continuing, "I care about the _kid_. I'm a little nervous too, but you gotta be strong."

A few people around the classroom snickered, causing one angry Danny to snap around and scan the class. Most of the students moved their eyes away from him. In the hallways, if the halfa thought someone was talking badly about the 'child', he would literally start lashing out at them. After the first three times of what was considered far beyond an earful and a few threats here and there, everyone got the message and an unspoken agreement was made among them never to tick him off again. _Especially_ when it came down to his 'child'. He really did frighten them and he knew it. So snickering around the room, in his presence no less, wasn't a good idea.

He heard that one more time, they were _all_ gonna get theirs. He wouldn't stand idle while someone belittled his 'child'.

He gave a very special glare to Paulina, the witch who pushed Sam's misery forward, before turning back to his friend and teacher. Even his teacher knew not to upset him when it was about his children. Everyone kept a distance from the matter and most were careful not to let one word stray from their lips.

If only they knew that Danny had much more capability than just yelling or threatening. Of course, he would never use his ghost powers against those who were more vulnerable than him. He had defenses and they didn't. Simple as that. So he shared his defenses, using his powers to protect them despite the impact their harshness had on Sam. He really didn't see much reason to protect them anymore. And thinking back only made him angry enough to begin wondering why he even tried to do anything for them. Bullying him, now that was one thing. But bullying Sam? Doing everything in their power to make her _suffer_ everywhere she went? Then having the gall to be nice just to get information on the twins? Unforgivable. Disgusting. _Infuriating_.

* * *

><p>Danny had to refrain from speeding. He had already picked up Sam and was now heading to the preschool. He accidentally ran two red lights, and almost ran a third. He came to a rolling stop at one stop sign, kept tailgating other cars, nearly overshot a left turn, and almost made a car behind him crash into him by braking so hard at an intersection. In the end Sam was left shaking and clinging to just about anything she could. Her breathing was unstable and her eyes were wide with fear. It was a good thing no cops were around at the time…<p>

"If you want to kill me, do it after we meet the teacher," she breathed shakily, her face already drained of all color.

Danny let out a breath and pried his fingers from the wheel. "Sorry. I just… I really wanted to get here."

"Well don't total the car!" she hissed at him as he put the car in park and turned the ignition off.

"I wasn't going to total the car," he assured.

"You almost did!"

"But I didn't."

The both of them took their seatbelts off before Danny locked the car. They went inside to meet the twins' new teacher for the first time.

* * *

><p>A few other parents had already arrived and were standing around the classroom, their kids greeting them. What Danny assumed to be the teacher was busy talking to one of the mothers. She nodded her head every now and then and as their conversation closed, she smiled and nodded her head.<p>

As the teacher went around talking to different couples, the twins came bounding up to Sam and Danny. Junior was still clingy even after his first day, but seemed less tense than before. Lilith was excited, but obviously tired. They both were, but she was the only one yawning. The pair assumed she'd gotten too hyper from all the excitement and new experiences.

The teacher finally noticed them and came up to introduce herself.

"Hello." She smiled and reached out to shake both their hands. "Are these little ones yours?"

"Yes," Sam said with a smile. "Both of them, Lilith and Junior."

"Ah, Lilith," the teacher laughed. "She's a handful. Such a sweet little girl though. She got along very well with the other children."

Danny smiled at his daughter. "That's good. We thought she might be a little overwhelmed."

The woman nodded and replied, "She was at first, but she quickly got over it. Her brother, on the other hand…"

The pair frowned.

"The poor thing was so shy, and he would hardly interact with anyone besides Lilith," she sighed. "I'm hoping that'll go away in time."

Smirking, the halfa answered, "It will. I think he takes after me that way; I've always been kind of shy."

The teacher smiled warmly. "Well, you both have beautiful children, shy or not."

Danny beamed.

"Oh, by the way, I'm curious to know what Junior's first name is. He wouldn't speak much so I never really got him to tell me," the woman said.

"It's Danny," Sam responded. "It's his father's name. We just call him Junior though. It avoids the confusion."

"Oh, I see now!" The woman turned to Danny. "I assume you're Danny?"

The halfa nodded. "I don't believe we caught your name yet."

"Oh, I'm sorry. You can call me Mrs. Lauren."

He shook her hand again. "Nice to meet you, Mrs. Lauren."

She smiled. "The same to you. Forgive me if I overstep my boundaries, but you both seem a little…_young_ to be raising kids."

Sam looked up at her boyfriend, who was already looking back at her, and bit her lip.

"Well…" the goth started. "We are a little young, but we…" Her voice trailed off and she faltered for a moment, finding herself unable to continue on with the sentence. "With all due respect, Mrs. Lauren, we both feel extremely uncomfortable about the subject. It's very personal."

Danny knew it was ten times more personal for Sam than it was for him, despite all they'd been through together. Now, if they were talking about it amongst themselves and themselves only, it wouldn't be tense at all. Especially now that they were raising kids together, they could both talk freely about pretty much anything, so long as it was the two of them and they were alone. Other than in one of those times, it wasn't something anyone else needed to know about, minus his family, who he was sure already knew. Sam never told him that anyone in his family knew, but once he escaped the base of the Guys In White and was sure they weren't following him, something about the atmosphere of the house had changed. His mother tended to act slightly differently toward Sam, almost sympathetic. He wasn't entirely sure about Jazz, but she was continually on Sam's case about the twins. He'd overheard her once tell Sam something about the twins 'needing to grow up a different way because of the circumstances'. He didn't know what went on there because he was away at school most of the week, but it was a lot of psychological talk even for Jazz.

But if Sam told them, then that was her choice and he would support her on that. Besides, this was one of the things he didn't have a say in. It was solely her decision.

Danny picked Lilith up, who yawned and leaned into his shoulder.

"Alright," he said, "it looks like someone's getting a little tired, so we should probably get going."

Likewise, Sam picked up Junior and agreed, "Yeah, Junior's getting tired too."

Mrs. Lauren nodded and said, "I understand. It was a pleasure meeting you." She shook both their hands before moving on to another set of parents.

**A/N**

**Time to vote on the poll is RUNNING OUT. You may want to do it NOW, because the next chapter (or the chapter after) will display the results. Plus...it's still a tie between three options. :l So seriously, someone please break that tie because it's killing me and I can't do anything until I have an answer. Unless you want me to put up a different poll with those three options and have me pester you by PM to vote for one, BREAK THE DARN TIE ALREADY.**

**I was planning to put the other half of this into one chapter, but I couldn't cram it all in there. So technically, this is half a chapter. The next half, aka the next chapter, is basically the other half of _Favorite Daughter of Hades' _idea. Again, I can't take credit for any of this, it's all her. :) So thank you, _Favorite Daughter of Hades_, for sharing this with everyone.**

**Sorry for the slow update. I'm also working on a new story called The Halfa Factory. I think it'll be really interesting and so far people seem to love it. And , if you've already read it but didn't read my A/N, please stop asking so many questions. The story will explain everything. There will be little hints, snippets, and literal explanations throughout it so relax. :/ I'm not kidding. Relax because chapter 4 will make you scream. Oh, and people PLEASE stop asking when Danny's going to come in. The characters are marked as "Sam M. and Danny F." so obviously Danny will come in at one point or another. Just be patient and go with the flow. And no matter how mad you get, please don't kill me after reading chapter 4... **

**Anyway, yeah, I'm working on The Halfa Factory and many other stories. I'm also busy with life outside of fanfiction, so forgive any slow updates to any other of my stories you're watching (if you're keeping an eye for them). Oh, and those who are wondering about A Rose Without Petals, it won't be updated for a while to come. This story here is my first and foremost priority on my story list. Next to that is FWBR, and third place is THF (The Halfa Factory). **

**No review quota, just review if you want.**

**Review replies, though? Well deserved, so here you go:**

**_xLa Reyna Phantasmax_- :) So sorry for the slow update. And thanks, I'm glad you liked it.  
><strong>

**_princessbinas_- X3 Of course he does, he's Danny. Well, if I told you what happens, it won't be much of a surprise, now would it? ;)**

**_HeroAce_- XD I'm EXACTLY like that. Only I don't turn the alarm off, I stuff the clock under my pillow. Then I reach under it a hundred times every time the alarm goes off to press the snooze button. Hrm...how many clocks, huh? You know, I don't really know, but I'd say about twenty or so? Just considering it's been three years and he has the amazing power to blow up the alarm on that thing. **

**_Alisi Thorndyke_- He's busy destroying his newest alarm clock. :D Meh, I'm not proud in the slightest, I just needed Tucker to find out. Now I can have both blackmail, and something to make things awkward between them. :) **

**_Looka'sMagicHell_- Oh yes, he's so discreet. XP**

**_AJ_- lol I didn't even think about what the rest of the school would be looking at. :P But yeah, now that you mention it, they'll probably notice. But keep in mind that they still think Danny's the biological dad, so they probably weren't shocked or anything to see a hickey on her.  
><strong>

**_Favorite Daughter of Hades_- :) This 'next one' has come, and I must say, you've given a perfect setup for two chapters (that just so happens to be two half-chapters). Anyway, it's a lovely set for transition.**

**_ShadowDragon357_- XD Yeah, I made him do that just so Danny would get all embarrassed. I was planning on making him find out a different way: walking in on Danny and Sam one day. Better to have found out through a hickey than through THAT. Besides, it would've been too much embarrassment for them all. **

**_Inuyuke_- *lowers tranquilizer* Okay, okay. XD How's it cute? I'd imagine you would feel bad for Danny if nothing else. lol! 'Big lump of fluff'. XP lol THAT is cute.**

**_sammansonrepilica_- I don't use ghost rays, I just shove my alarm clock under my pillow to keep hitting the snooze button. :) Glad you liked that chapter.**

**_LittleBoomBoom_- Sorry! Sorry! Geez, that sounds like a lot. lol I was originally planning to make him walk in on Danny and Sam one day but after a very long self-argument, I decided against it.**

**_TheNinjaKitty13_- :D That's great! And thanks!**

**REMEMBER THE POLL, GUYS! IT'S COMING TO AN END AND I'M SO SICK OF THE TIE! SOMEONE PLEASE BE THE OFFICIAL AND MUCH LOVED TIEBREAKER!**


	26. Chapter 26

~Chapter 26~

The next day of school proved to be...awkward. Almost horrible... There was a distinct lack of Mosquitoes, and for some reason no one was trying to spy or coming up to ask anything about the twins. It was weird because you would imagine that after the first day of preschool, the Mosquitoes would be washing over them like a tidal wave washes over the shore of a beach before destroying everything it can.

Even stranger was the attention Paulina was getting. Was she popular? Absolutely, likely the most popular girl in Casper High. Was she pretty? Beautiful to all who couldn't see past her skin. Was she charming? Not as charming as Sam, to Danny at least, but very charming to everyone else.

So, needless to say, getting attention was her specialty. However, ever since the twins came into the picture, her harem of adoring fans had been drawn away from her to pick out information. Ergo, hammering Danny and Tucker. But now she was the absolute center of attention for the _entire_ school. Not to say that it wasn't a welcomed relief to have the Mosquitoes mobbing someone else for a change, but a feeling in the pit of Danny's gut told him something bigger was happening than just Paulina's looks and fame.

"So, hey, where's Sam?" Tucker asked, trying to lift the mood of unease around the twosome.

Danny cast a glance over to Paulina's large crowd, where she was obviously bragging about something, before turning back to his friend and answering, "She said she wasn't coming today. I don't blame her. Yesterday was a little stressful for both of us, and we didn't get much sleep. She's probably at home taking a nap. It's actually good for her; she needs it. She gets stressed out really easily now. Plus, the twins are starting to get into that really playful stage so Sam especially has to work harder."

"But you must be doing something wrong, dude. She's been acting a little cold toward you."

Danny shrugged and looked down at his food. "If I did anything, then I don't know what it is. The last thing I would want to do is blame my own kids for this, but she's been tired and difficult lately. I really don't think it's something I did."

"What did the twins do though? They're only three years old, it's not like they can take responsibility yet."

Danny shrugged again. "They're so hyper. We've been cutting back on the sugar but it's not working. I honestly think they're just exhausting her."

Whenever he came home, Sam seemed ready to drop dead. She usually plopped onto the couch while he took over for her. She didn't come up to him anymore, she just sat there with her eyes closed tight. Occasionally she would complain about headaches and constant fatigue. That kind of backed up his theory of the twins being the cause of her stress. He was starting to think that even though Sam didn't want anyone to know anything, he should take the twins during his free period and lunch, that way he could give her a break and take over while she rested.

Tucker would always be willing to help out. As long as he wasn't forced into lending a hand, he would play with the twins and make sure they wouldn't run away to wherever their parents didn't want them to go. And they _always_ tried to go where they weren't supposed to. It was just a kid thing, a curious impulse that they simply couldn't ignore. But they were three, so it was perfectly normal for them to test their limits.

"Dude," Tucker sighed, "I think Sam needs a break or something. She needs to calm down."

Well yeah, he already knew that.

"I'm hoping she'll let me bring them to school when I have any free time. I'm their dad and they usually stick by me in front of new people. Junior might not go anywhere without you or me. The only one I'll actually have to keep an eye on is his sister. I swear, she's like a miniature version of Sam! Do you have any idea what it's like dealing with two Sams?!"

The geek only laughed. "Sucks to be you right now."

Danny glared at him. "Well why doesn't Uncle Tucker trade places for a day? Then we'll see how funny it is."

Tucker held one hand up and shook his head. "You couldn't pay me enough to trade places for a few _minutes_, let alone twenty-four hours. But I can stop by later today if you want. It sounds like you both need a break."

"What do you mean 'both'? I'm fine handling the twins, it's Sam I'm worried about."

"No, it's you too. She's not the only one who's been stressed and moody lately," the techno-geek implied.

"I'm not stressed and moody, I'm tired. There's a difference."

"That too. Dude, why don't you just lay down for a little bit and sleep? I'll get you up when it's time to go."

"Because if I don't eat, my stomach will be roaring at me in class. I mean, half the time I need to skip dinner and sometimes breakfast. I have to fight ghosts and patrol the city, you know. Plus there's homework, schoolwork, college applications that still need to be filled out, and the twins. I have a family now, Tucker; I have to take care of it."

"I get that part, but let's face it, you both need a break from your kids. Jazz is usually busy, your parents would rather have you take care of the twins than them, and you and Sam are about to drop dead. I'm free later; I can babysit."

A small group of girls, Star being among them, came up to the pair and began their usual barrage of questions. Most of the time Danny tuned them out, but a certain question that seemed to be asked by all of them caught his undivided attention.

They kept asking if it was true. He didn't really know what they meant, but he immediately knew it had something to do with the twins.

"So is it true?!" one of them squealed as the other listened intently.

"I-I...don't... I-Is what true?" he stuttered.

They all smiled at the comment and began explaining everything. They were all talking so fast and all at once; he couldn't understand a thing they were saying.

"WAIT!" he shouted. They silenced themselves and eagerly awaited an answer. "Is _what_ true? Only one of you." He pointed to the foremost girl, Star.

She barely held back a squeal and, in a high-pitched, very preppy voice, answered, "Is it true that you have twins!"

Danny's jaw dropped and he looked at Tucker. Tucker only looked back and shook his head, his shoulders raising.

His eyes landed back on Star and the other girls. "I...I...I-I don't know... I mean... I don't have twins...I have one kid-"

"Oh! Is it the girl or the boy?" Star piped.

This time the halfa paled, realizing that the secret had somehow gotten out. Now they seemed to know everything. But...how? He didn't say anything, and he knew Tucker would never say anything.

"Where did you hear about this?" he asked shakily.

They all smiled. It was Star who seemed to do all the talking for the group.

"And do you really call the boy Junior? Does that mean his first name is Danny? Or is it just Daniel? Or Dan? Does he even have a nickname? And what about the girl? Is her name really Lilith? Do you call her Lily? Does she have a nickname too?"

How many questions...? Why and how did they know so much about the twins? Even their names!

"Hey, is Junior really as shy as you are?"

"I'm not shy!" he protested. His comments were ignored, smothered with new questions.

"I've heard that Lilith is like, really brave," one of the other girls said.

"Girls, girls! Stop! You've heard wrong! There's one kid, not twins! And you got their names and personalities all wrong!"

Star gasped in excitement. "Ohmigosh! So it really is twins?! How adorable! What do they look like? Do they have black hair like yours? Oh! Do they have thick messy hair like yours? And what about Sam? Did they get her eyes?"

"N-Not twins..." he managed, starting to shy away.

"You know," one of the other girls told one of the other _other_ girls in the group, "I heard that gender is actually decided by a chromosome in the dad's sperm. When it fertilizes the egg, it donates that chromosome and if it's a Y chromosome, the baby is a boy; if it's an X chromosome, the baby is a girl."

Another girl spoke up. "So Danny's sperm-"

"OH GOD STOP!" he screamed. "Don't talk about my-! JUST GO AWAY! SHUT UP AND GET OUT OF HERE!"

The girls still softly spoke and giggled amongst each other but moved away from him nonetheless.

Tucker recovered from his shock. "Dude...I think you just had half your blood sucked by Mosquitoes..."

"Why are girls so weird?" he groaned. "I take anatomy and I didn't need to hear...you know...what they were talking about." He held his palm to his forehead and leaned back. "I never thought I would hear a girl talk about me that way..."

"I'm mortified and it wasn't even about me!" Tucker complained.

"Shut up! You have no right to be embarrassed after that! I'll be having nightmares about this for weeks! And if they tell anyone what they were about to say in front of me, I'll never live it down! I mean, they think _I_-"

Tucker quickly cleared his throat and, skillfully reminding him of what he'd done about four weeks, maybe five weeks ago, interrupted, "_You_ technically did."

Snarling at his friend, Danny lowered his head to the table and muttered, "_I_ didn't 'donate a chromosome'..."

"I know you won't believe me, but I really do feel bad for you. I think I'd have died if that happened to me. Besides, think of it this way: it's better they think it's you than whoever that other guy was. Right?" Tucker tried to cheer him up.

Danny nodded. "Yeah, but it's still embarrassing. I mean, Sam might as well be my wife; I can talk to her about anything. But I don't even know most of those girls!"

The geek smirked. "Speaking of Sam as a wife-"

"Don't start," he curtly replied. "We're too young, and even if I tried, she would probably say no."

"Why would she say no?" Tucker snorted, hoping to have pushed his friend off one topic and onto a much more suitable one.

The halfa shifted a little before answering. "Because we're too young! Plus, she's stressed out, and we have the twins to raise. Then I fight ghosts, patrol, go to school... It's getting hard to find time for anything else. And besides, I wouldn't even know how to go about this."

"Go about what?"

"Proposing to her." Danny sighed heavily. "If we were older and things were different, I might work up the nerve. But for now..." He sighed again. "It just won't work, Tuck. I have three, count 'em, _three_ lives now: family life, school life, and ghost-fighting life. I have a double identity, and double the kids to take care of. I study hard to get my diploma; which by the way, I need to support Sam and the twins once we move out."

"Once you guys move out, you can propose. I mean, you'll obviously be older. You won't have to worry about your parents or sister. You won't have schoolwork anymore. The twins should also be older, so they'll be a little more independent. You can take her out somewhere and do it then."

Danny rolled his eyes. "You know how many years it took me just to say 'I love you' to her?"

Tucker mimicked his friend's action. "You know how long it took for you to start wanting to be the twins' dad?"

"That's...that's different," he countered stubbornly, but failing miserably.

"Not really. When you went crazy on that flower, you kept calling her your dove. You wouldn't sleep unless you were holding her. To this day you call her your dove. How long did that take, to call her a dove after you sweated out the poison?"

"Immediately," he mumbled.

"So what's holding you back?"

The halfa threw his hands up in the air like it was the most obvious answer in the world. "Uh, everything!"

Tucker took in a deep breath. "Listen, she won't say no."

"Oh yeah? How do you know? How do you know she won't think the same thing I do?"

"_Because_," the geek retorted, "she saw your notebook and said she was fine with it. She knows what 'SF' stands for. She changed the twins' last name to yours. She knows you love her. She knows you want to marry her. She named Junior after you. She told you everything that ever happened to her. She lets you call her your dove and she likes it. And probably a dead giveaway...she let you have sex with her. We both know she's against premarital sex, which means she thinks of you as a husband."

"Last part wasn't something you needed to say in public. But...I guess you do have a point..." Danny ran a hand through his hair and let out a breath. "I'll think about it. But it'll probably be a no."

"I told you she won-"

"No, not her...me. I still think we're too young. We're only eighteen, that's not old enough for marriage. And stop pestering me about it, I'll do it when I'm ready."

"When will you- Okay, nevermind. A better question would be, will you ever be ready? Dude, with you it's always 'now or never'. Why not just do it now and see how it goes?"

"Tuck, I told you, we're too young. Now can we please just drop it? Call me crazy, but I don't wanna be pressured into getting married, okay?"

"Danny!" a feminine voice chirped.

The two hardly had time to turn around before Paulina took a quick seat beside the halfa. Oh...great. Paulina, of all people...of all girls...

"Before you go on and on about this, I-"

Soon he heard the roaring thuds and thumps and shuffles of at least fifty people crowd around him, each one asking a different question per second.

He looked around, eyes wide. Beginning to panic, he sought a way out. There was no way out, not through this thick, tight crowd of girls and some boys.

He had to wait ten full minutes for them all to stop their clamoring. Almost every one of them settled down, and all the seats at his table were now taken.

"Okay," Paulina spoke up after everyone had silenced. "So I know all about your twins now. I want to see them for myself, just to make sure my mama told me the truth."

Tucker cast a very quick look at his friend. And Danny got the message the instant it was sent.

"I-I... Your mom? What? How does she know about any of this?" Danny asked, scratching the back of his neck nervously, hoping that this was somehow all one big misunderstanding.

"My mom is a preschool teacher-"

Oh...oh no...please don't be...

"and she teaches your twins. Mrs. Lauren Sanchez."

OH CRAP...

_Of_ _course_ the twins' teacher would be Paulina's mother. Why not! He dropped his head onto the table, wishing this was a dream, a really bad dream. And worse... What would Sam think of this, how would she react? She was already so stressed as it was...

He sighed. If the school was going to know, he didn't want them to make up rumors that could possibly be offensive or demeaning to the twins. And Sam... If a rumor was spread about them, Sam would kill everyone who caught wind of that rumor. He didn't want that to happen. Because Sam had wrath. A lot of wrath. To be subject to any of it was to be put in a world of hurt.

"OKAY." He glanced at Tucker, sending him an expression of defeat and resignation. He then looked back at everyone else, who knew he was about to explain.

He cleared his throat and from the corner of his eye, saw Tucker lower his gaze.

"It's not one kid, Sam gave birth to identical twins," he started. "One of them is a boy, the other is a girl. Lilith Brooke Fenton was Sam's idea. Once she turned eighteen, she got their last names changed from Manson to Fenton. The boy was named after me. I was so excited about having both a son and a daughter that Sam agreed to name the boy after me. His full name is Daniel Junior Fenton, but we just call him Junior so no one gets confused. Most of you got their personalities swapped up. Lilith, who by the way _doesn't_ have a nickname, is actually the brave one. Junior, whose first name _is_ shortened to Danny, is the shy one. They have dark brown hair, hazel eyes, and right now everything about them relatively looks the same. No, they don't share some deep psychic connection. They're three in case any of you haven't noticed. Any more questions?"

One of the girls whom he didn't know raised their hand.

"Yes?" Was this how Mr. Lancer felt when the class actually obeyed?

"Um, I was just thinking about this... It kind of popped into my head after you described what the twins looked like... Um...I've seen both your families, and no one in them has that hair color or that eye color... I was just wondering what's up with that..."

He felt all the blood drain from his face. One, a girl he didn't even know somehow knew what both his and Sam's families looked like, and two, she was so close to Sam's secret... He didn't quite know how to steer her away from it, but...

He chose to shut them all up on that matter. "It doesn't matter. You asked about the twins, not us. You got your answers about the twins. Be happy with what I gave you."

"Wait!" one girl piped up. She continued only when he turned to look at her. "Why did you keep being so secretive about them?"

He smiled in disbelief. "Wow, I can't even... You wanna know why, you seriously wanna know why? You haven't noticed?"

"I-I'm a transfer student... I haven't been around long enough to know..." she answered softly.

"Oh...well, um... It's a good thing you weren't here. A certain little I'm-not-allowed-to-say over here..." He jerked his thumb toward Paulina. "...forced Sam to admit she was pregnant _to the entire class_."

Paulina gasped in offense but he honestly couldn't care less. "I am _not_-"

"SHUT UP," he growled. She quieted and shrank away from him. Turning back to the one girl, he continued, "Anyway, Paulina forced Sam to admit to being pregnant. When word spread to the rest of the school, everyone made sure to do everything and anything in their power to make her life lower than rock bottom. She would get inappropriate notes taped to her locker, a couple of kids gave her alcohol knowing she was pregnant, and...let's just say there was more to it than anyone here will ever know. Anyway, once Sam gave birth, she had to drop out of high school. A special thanks to Paulina, she didn't want anyone to know a thing about the twins, be it the fact that there were to babies instead of one, or the genders, names, looks, etc. So we never told anyone. No one deserved to know after what they did."

"Well after what you just said about me, now I have the right to_ demand_ to see the twins!" Paulina scoffed.

Danny turned all the way around to glare at her. "First of all, don't say 'the twins' like they're just anyone's. They aren't yours, you little spoiled _brat_! You have _nothing_ to do with them. Second of all, you have no rights to _my_ twins whatsoever. You don't deserve to see them. And we'll be sure to tell your mother about what you did, and that we don't want you near our kids at all. If I see you come near them, or if I decide you've gotten too close for comfort, I will _not_ hesitate to issue a restraining order. And I don't give a crap whether or not I seem rude! You need to be put in your place!"

She began to blush and look at all the people staring at her.

He noticed it. "What, are you embarrassed? Because after everything you've done, I don't care if I'm humiliating you in front of the entire school! You sure didn't mind humiliating Sam in the classroom! If you want to know the honest to God truth, I've wanted to smack you in your prissy little face for years now! And if you were Dash, I'd have done it a hundred times over already, and then a hundred times more for acting like you have bragging rights about _MY_ KIDS. You _have_ no rights, Paulina; you never did and you never will so get your freaking priorities straight!"

Tears formed at the edges of her eyes and she lowered her head a little, clearly not liking being told off by him.

"The only reason I haven't beaten the daylights out of you is because you're a girl. And that's it, that's all that's standing in my way, do you understand that? I don't hit girls. If you were a boy you would be in the ER and possibly in ICU. I'm sick of seeing you strut on up to us, especially with Sam by me, and talking to us like you haven't done anything wrong. You're not innocent, okay? And all those years Sam was right! You're shallow, you're manipulative, you use popularity to your advantage, you pick on everyone lower in status than you, and you mistreat _everyone_! Then you try to make yourself look all perfect so no one looks past your skin to see the horrible demon you really are! Sam saw it long before I did and I regret not having listened to her. For too long a time I thought you were perfect, just like every other blind sucker in this school. It took _twins_ to open my eyes. So you should pat yourself on the back for masking the real you behind barbie-thick makeup!"

A small whine escaped her throat.

"So don't sit there and be all proud that you know about kids that aren't yours! Mind explaining to me why you were were so proud to be talking about _my_ kids? Hm? And this is a real question. In light of how much damage you've already caused, I think I'm the one who has a right to demand something from you. _You_ owe _us_, not the other way around! So answer me!" He brought a tight fist down on the table with a resounding _BOOM!_

She opened her mouth, and answered as best she could. "I...I just... I wanted to know, and since I was the only one who knew, I thought I would tell everyone else..."

"Well you still aren't in the position to do that. I don't care how high up you are on the A-list, you will _not_ continue talking about this unless _I_ say so. Am I understood?"

She nodded quietly.

"Good."

At that moment, in perfect timing, his phone vibrated in his pocket. Still glaring at Paulina, he fished it out and hastily answered the call. Almost immediately, Sam's voice came over the line.

And she was very, _very_ upset. And whenever Sam got upset, so did Danny. Considering he already had fire pumping through his veins, no one would want to mess with him right now. And no one should be stupid enough to.

"Danny," she croaked, "I need you to come home..."

"Why, is something wrong?" he asked, his voice raspy from his rage against the she-snake just moments ago.

"Danny, come home," she reiterated. "Please."

"Is everything okay? I-Is something wrong with anyone?"

"Yes!" she cried. "You have to get over here, please! I need you!"

"ARE THE TWINS OKAY?!"

"They're fine, just...I know you're in school but I need you to get over here _now_. Please come, you have to, I really need you over here and I can't...!"

"O-Okay! I'm coming, just...just hold on, I'll be there in a minute!" He smacked the phone shut and wheeled around to face Tucker. "Something's wrong; tell Lancer I had to go."

He didn't give his friend a chance to reply, because he certainly wouldn't protest if something was wrong, especially if it was an emergency this serious.

Danny frantically shoved through the thick crowd of people, who were trying to get out of his way before he pushed past them. After seeing how he acted toward Paulina not moments ago, nobody wanted to be his next victim.

Once around a secluded corner, he morphed and flew as fast and phantomly possible to Sam. He felt his heart racing, and it might even stopped once or twice, as he sped up, trying to accelerate more and more even though he had already reached his limit.

* * *

><p>He all but broke down the door.<p>

Sam was there, sitting on the bed. Her face was in her hands and she was shaking so violently it was hard to believe she wasn't having a seizure. Her pants and shirt were wet from where she had been crying and her forehead, the only part of her face he could see, was so blotchy it could be considered red. She had been crying. _Hard_. This was so bad it came second place to the time she was raped, where she took it all out on him. Wait... She couldn't have been raped again, could she? Oh no. No no no... Sure, that one man was still alive and still out there, but he couldn't have found out where she lived, right?

He rushed to her side, careful not to further upset her by panicking.

"Sam?" he whispered breathlessly. "Sam, are you okay?"

She weakly shook her head and could only manage an apology.

"What's wrong?"

She shook her head again; this time it was accompanied by a visible shudder and a terribly shaky breath.

"What happened? What happened to you?"

Again, she shook her head.

He gently pulled her hands down and tilted her chin, forcing her to look up at him. Oh, he wished this was a dream...! First the twins went to preschool for the first time, then the whole school found out about the twins, then he learned that Paulina's mother was the twins' teacher, and now his dove was completely shaken by something and wouldn't tell him what it was.

With a quivering breath and a still trembling body, Sam opened her mouth...and he could've died at what came next.

"Danny, I'm pregnant."

**A/N**

**OOOHHHHHH! XD Betcha weren't expecting THAT coming, huh? The very last part (as well as Danny completely telling off Paulina, which I SO enjoyed writing!) was entirely my rest goes out to _Favorite Daughter of Hades_ for giving me the idea of the twins being taught by Paulina's mom.**

**:D And yes, I did have to make thing awkward for Danny. We were studying the female reproductive system in Anatomy and were moving on to the male reproductive system, and we had discussed the egg (ovum) being fertilized (in which it is now a zygote), and how in the immediate fusion of sperm and ova, gender is already decided and the now-zygote has all its genes. The ova will always contain one X chromosome, so if the sperm donates a Y chromosome, the resulting zygote will be male. If the sperm donates an X chromosome, the zygote will be female. So since I had to suffer from studying about my own reproductive system (you do NOT want to know what goes on inside us girls), I decided to make Danny suffer from a little reproductive talk. XP **

**The poll was voted on and the winning answer, at 43% (19 votes) of the 30 total votes the poll got, was "Yes." Now here's the thing! Secondary to this option was (and I can't believe how awful you guys are lol!) "Triplets.", which came in at 27% and had 12 people rooting for it. So, Sam is now pregnant, and the new question is whether the secondary answer will come to play. Will the baby turn out to be babies (again)? OR will I decide to be evil and make it a miscarriage? I know some of you didn't want it to be so soon because the twins were already putting a little strain on the family (but also completed the family in way), so will I listen to those of you who didn't want a baby/babies to come in yet...or will I keep them? ;) Like I'll tell you.**

**I am VERY proud to announce that this chapter is 5,970 words long! :D YAY!**

**I'm positive that this will be a fan favorite, simply because so much is going on if for nothing else. I'm PRAYING for a healthy income of reviews on this one. They keep me going, they give me drive!**

**Oh, and keep this one little thing in mind before you move on to anything else: It IS possible Sam could've been raped, so who's the father? ;) Another little cliffie I so graciously left for you all.**

**Okay, so review quota will be...oh, I dunno, because it's an extra long chapter (to make up for that horrible skimpy one I made you guys endure) and because I can guarantee that SOMEONE will have something to say bout all this, I guess I'll ask for more than usual. So how about three hundred sixty-seven (367)? Come on, guys, I know you can do it! :) I believe in you.**

**Review reply time! :D Here you are, my darlings:**

**_princessbinas_- lol Oh, you may or may not be right. ;) Only time (and I) will tell, now won't it?**

**_sammansonrepilica_- :3 I know...! :DDD My favorite pairing in all the cartoon universe!**

**_Favorite Daughter of Hades_- THANK YOU for this chapter. :) I wrote it, but it certainly would not exist without you,and you gave just the perfect idea for a transition, and it's just...THANKS! :D**

**_AJ_- :P I know, Daddy Danny (a ton of people called him that in the original FWB and the very beginning of FWG, before I put it on hiatus and lost all my readers, and the name kinda stuck so he is now Daddy Danny) is so cute and protective... He'll make a great father, and that's what I'm trying to shape him into, with this fatherly personality and a kind of slow change while he also retains that hint of his former personality before he became a dad (or technically a doddy). Aw, poor Danny... It's not his fault he's still in high school, Sam was raped and he wanted to help her raise them. Then once they were born he just wanted to be their father. Although now...he MAY be the father of this new baby or he may not, depending on whichever way I go. Because you know, Sam was attacked three times, but only raped twice. I'm thinking a third time to sort of even it out. Plus I would really love to put more stress on Danny, just to see how much he can take (even in a story, you can feel when your character is about to crack).**

**_Alisi Thorndyke_- I have a friend who wants to date, but whenever her dad sees a boy, he puts his arm around her. XD And her dad, he's a big man. Very intimidating to any guy who comes near her. LOL! AWRP has been updated...for the first time in like forever...and I haven't even started on the next chapter... *sigh* That story is honestly becoming a chore and it's dragging me down. But I promised I'd finish so...**

**_HeroAce_- Glad to know you like it. :) Um...those (except speeding) were all driving mistakes I've made... Probably because Danny's the shy one over Sam. :P "Like father, like son." It applies in the DP realm, apparently. But don't worry, the twins are very young right now, so they'll obviously go through a few phases before reaching their actual personality (although mine was evident from the start when I wouldn't let my mom rock me to sleep after the first week I was born). Anyway they have their own personalities that are still developing. And truth be told, Junior really IS picking this up from Danny. XD**

**_Lucy_- Yeah, it's weird... In FWB I wound up showing Sam's thought extremely clearly, but now I keep straying from her and ending up more on Danny. I'm trying to keep it in check right now, but obviously next chapter will be a little more from Danny's perspective since we can already imagine how Sam feels about this.**

**_TheNinjaKitty13_- :P My own driving mistakes posted on fanfiction. What are the odds! lol! (except speeding)**

**_Inuyuke_- No problem. :) Thanks! And I'm trying hard to make him STRIVE to be the best father he can be for those twins. :') Cuz Daddy Danny is amazing...**

**_Looka'sMagicHell_- Ah, Daddy Danny, his nickname since FWB. :P Became awfully popular, yet quickly forgotten once this thing went on hiatus after chapter 3. (and it was publish only a week after FWB was finished) Well, now you know! Or at least now you know one of the polls... :P The other one will show later. Update has come!**

**ANNOUNCEMENT: POLL 1 HAS BEEN TAKEN DOWN. :D Thanks for voting, everyone!**


	27. Chapter 27

~Chapter 27~

The halfa felt the blood rush down to his feet. Subconsciously he knew there was a blank expression on his face; he honestly didn't know what to think. He...he wasn't really sure if he was ready to be father to a third child. Twins were a ton of work as it was, and to top that they were exact opposites despite being identical twins. Now there would be another child...and that might prove to be too much to handle. He struggled to find time for everyone as it was, and now Sam was pregnant again, and he just didn't know whether he was ready for this or not.

When she was pregnant with the twins, it was completely different. Not only was it something beyond her control, but he wasn't the one who did that to her. Of course...he might not be the actual father of this child. The rapist was still there, somewhere. He might as well have _vowed_ to find and kill her. It was possible that the reason she was so upset...and she was still shaking terribly... She was completely distraught...she even called him _begging_ him to come back, even though she knew he was smack dead in the middle of school.

"Oh, God...Sam, who's the father?" he breathed, knowing it was possible that the real reason behind this could be that she was raped for a third time.

She dropped her head back in her hands. "You."

No, that...that couldn't be right... How was that even possible? She was on birth control, she couldn't have gotten pregnant from him! Then again, being as she _was_ on birth control, she couldn't have gotten pregnant even if she _had_ been raped. She couldn't have gotten pregnant from anyone. It didn't make any sense... Just...how exactly did she...? Did she happen to skip a day or...? Maybe this whole thing had to do with a woman's menstrual cycle, in terms of the way it fell or the date she last had her period? Did she miss her period? Was that how she knew? Either way, if he was the father, why was she so upset? If anything it should be the opposite. This wasn't under the same circumstances as with the twins. This time it was him, this time it was with someone she loved, and who loved her back.

"Danny, I'm so sorry!" she strained.

"Huh? For what?"

She used one of her hands to wipe away some of the tears. Others just fell down. "I didn't know I was ovulating and I should've taken that into consideration but now I'm pregnant again and..." She hiccuped, breaking her rant.

"No...no, don't be sorry," he cooed, gently taking her into his lap.

"How do you feel about this?" she choked out.

He frowned, unsure of what to tell her. He didn't want her to know that in no way was he prepared for this. He wasn't even sure he wanted another child yet. Yes, he did want one eventually, but when they were older and not this busy. Preferably when they were married. Er...well, unless she said no, but he really didn't want to think about that. He opted to sidestep her question for the time being. "How did- No, _when_ did this happen?"

She sniffled and leaned into him. "The only time I wasn't on birth control."

"When was that?"

"Our first time together," she shakily replied.

He bit his lip _hard_. It only took one time for this to happen? Again? And it was the only time she hadn't been on birth control; ever since that time, she had been on it. Neither of them thought she would already have conceived. And it wasn't her fault, she didn't know. He really wasn't sure how to feel about it though.

It looked like stress hadn't been from the twins. As he had learned in Anatomy, her mood swings were being caused by extremely high levels of progesterone and estrogen. Both hormones piqued during ovulation, which would explain why she was so...eh...'cuddly' at the time. He should've seen that one coming, being as he had actually just been studying the female reproductive system. It helped explain a lot of things about how and why Sam, his mother, and his sister changed their behaviors at certain times during each month. Sam especially was prone to irritability, which would easily explain why she had become so harsh at times lately. She didn't have as much patience with the twins as before, and when it began wearing thin, she got stressed and emotional. He had probably gotten stressed simply because she had, and because of the confusion she caused him when she turned all snappy.

Her estrogen levels, now that she was pregnant, were spiking beyond belief, which was causing her constant and rather severe mood swings. The progesterone was what was causing the nausea she had from time to time, although he honestly believed she was throwing up without telling him; that hormone also spiked during pregnancy, and too much of it caused morning sickness. Though unlike with the twins, her morning sickness had been more at night than in the morning. Then she was tired all the time. There was now a baby growing inside her, and it couldn't exactly use its own energy yet, which meant it had to use hers. Add that to keeping pace with the twins' hyperactivity, and you had yourself one exhausted Sam. That probably helped out with the moodiness.

And maybe it was that same moodiness that was upsetting her so much.

_Crap_ he would be having so much to deal with...

"Have you told anyone else?" he asked her softly.

She shook her head, and he felt it through his shirt. So she hadn't told anyone else, which was probably why she wanted him back here so badly. She wanted to tell him first since he was the father. She knew she would end up having a breakdown at some random place in the house and accidentally tell someone else first, and she didn't want that to happen. She had holed herself up inside their room to make sure that no one had a chance of knowing until he got home.

Of course, it didn't help that he'd made such a noisy entrance by almost breaking the door in two. _That_ wasn't likely to attract attention.

But he was glad she'd called him back here instead of telling him over the phone. This was the kind of news that was meant to be told in person rather than over some device. He would've hated being told about this over the phone, and even more so in front of half the school.

"Do you _want_ to tell anyone else?" he asked.

She shook her head again.

"You're being awfully quiet," he pointed out. "Is there something else bothering you?"

She didn't move.

Yes.

He inhaled and said, "You know what? I think you could use a little ghost zone trip. Hm?"

She nodded, but still said nothing.

He got up and held out a hand for her to take. Once she took it, he led her down to his parents' lab, where the Specter Speeder hovered leisurely above the ground. The ghost zone was unique, abnormal. Sam loved anything that defied its own rules. Ghost zone? Perfect for her. It was almost like her little sanctuary, despite being home to infinite numbers of the very beings they fought. Or at least he did. He rarely allowed Sam to accompany him when fighting ghosts. He was too worried something might happen to her and wasn't anywhere near willing to take that risk. She hated it, and often protested against it, but he still wouldn't let her come.

He started up the Speeder and, once she was safely inside, shot off into the ghost zone. She went in here whether he wanted her to or not anyway, so it wasn't much of a big deal. In fact, he'd learned to let her do it so long as no one else found out. They would find it suspicious that a human would want to enter the ghost zone. An interrogation would arise and it would be complicated, maybe even impossible, to keep his secret.

It was scary to know how easily your own family could reject you, simply because there was a half to you they didn't understand. His family hated that half so much that they hunted it. Getting shot at by the people who say they love you... Those same people then talked about hurting a ghost like it was nothing to them. He didn't want to be seen as nothing. He wanted to remain their son, and in order to do that, he had to keep Danny Phantom an entirely different person. His parents _could_ hurt him, and it was all too possible that they would.

But then...Sam's family had done the same thing to her. They didn't hunt her, and she didn't have a double identity, but they had rejected her, hurt her. It had been a crushing blow.

Upon entering the ghost zone, he decided to simply drive around, letting her have a ride and hopefully perk up a little.

It didn't go as planned, though, and for an hour she stared out the window, her head turned away from him. It was at an angle where he could see one side of her face, and if she was feeling any better then she sure wasn't showing it.

He held back a sigh and moved his eyes down to her stomach. He'd already seen it swell up to a size that looked painful, but like the first time, he just couldn't imagine a huge belly like that on her.

The halfa reached over to her and held her hand. "You okay?"

Tears leaked out. "Danny, do you want this baby?"

He didn't know if he could answer that question. It was his, and he knew she wasn't going to get an abortion. He wouldn't _want_ her to get an abortion. However, they both knew that adoption was an option. Maybe it would be better off being raised by someone else, someone who wasn't as busy as he was. And Sam...she was busy with the twins and would have to recover from labor. His family would undoubtedly help her handle the twins while she rested, but they had made it very clear that they wouldn't raise any of the kids. Another baby would cause so much stress on her; it had to be unhealthy. She was a mom, yes, but she was also just a teenager. Eighteen, and a mother since fifteen. It would be so hard on her if they kept the baby...

He really couldn't answer her question. It was the second time she'd asked him a question he couldn't answer. So he merely rubbed a thumb over the top of her hand.

Another hour must've passed, or at least it felt that long, before Sam said, "I've never forced you to take care of the twins. I won't force you to take care of this baby if you don't want to."

At some point he had taken his hand away from hers and put it back on the wheel. Now he only gripped it tighter, wishing that she would drop the subject altogether. Maybe it was selfish thinking, but if she wanted answers to her questions, she needed to give him time to think about this. Right now his thoughts were jumbled and just...everywhere. He had yet to sort them out. And Sam...she wasn't making it any easier by bringing up the baby.

It was actually very hard to believe she was pregnant. And with _his_ child.

That realization finally slapped him square in the face. Sam was...she was pregnant... She was pregnant... Sam was pregnant with his baby. That was _his_ baby in there. It...It was his. _His_... _His_ baby, he hadn't really been able to say that for the twins.

He let his foot off the gas, letting the rockets die down in seconds. Soon the Specter Speeder stopped moving altogether and just sat in the middle of the ghost zone, floating.

His kid, that was his kid, it was his, his kid, _his_ kid...! H-his... It was his. His! His kid was inside Sam, and...and it was _his_.

"Danny?" the goth nervously mumbled.

He didn't hear her and ran a hand through his hair, already tangled from his desperate flight to get home from school.

His. His. His. It was his. The baby was his. That was _his_. Baby. And it was inside _his_. Girlfriend. They were both. _His._ Both of the were his. But now there were two of them, and now one of them literally had a Danny stamp on it. And it was his, it was literally his; his genes were inside her. The kid. Was. _His_. Wait, his? Yes. His. No...this had to be like, a-a dream...or- No, it wasn't a dream. Couldn't be a dream. He'd never dreamt about anything like this before. It was only the twins, those were the only kids he ever dreamt about. There wasn't a _baby_ in there, right? She was playing with him, had to be playing with him. No she wasn't playing with him! But she had to be! There was no way, it was only one time! It couldn't have actually resulted in a baby, no, yes, no, yes, yes it did... It couldn't have done that! But it _did_ do that... HOW?! The birds and the bees, that's how. NO! Yes. IT HAD TO BE A DREAM! No, it's real.

There was a baby in Sam? Yes. And it was his? Yes. Why? What? Whyyyyy was there a baby in her...? It didn't make sense! It didn't make any sense! Yes, it does. No, that wasn't possible! Yes, it is. LIES... Truth... NO! Yes. This wasn't right, this just wasn't right, it didn't add up...! Moron, the baby's _yours. _No it wasn't, it couldn't be! What the heck was going on?! You're mentally cracking. No he wasn't! Yes you are. NO! Yes. SHUT UP! Truuuth... NO! Yes.

* * *

><p>"Now we will begin discussing th-" Lancer paused, scanning the classroom. Daniel's seat was empty.<p>

His friend Tucker seemed to notice and answered his mental question. "He said he had to go."

Lancer frowned. "Did something come up?"

The geek shrugged. "I'm not really sure... But he looked pretty scared."

"Scared?"

"Yeah, I think something happened at his house. He didn't tell me what though."

Lancer hoped everything was fine with young Daniel and his family. Deep down he knew something had happened. His student never missed school unless he had to. And this time, he actually left in the middle of the day. It had to be serious for that to happen. And then to not come back? He didn't even call anyone to say what happened, or why he had to go. It was unlike him in almost every aspect.

Lancer thought for a moment about calling his parents. Obviously Daniel wasn't keen on phones right now, but his parents might pick up and answer. Then he could find out why his student had left so suddenly, and without a proper explanation as to why. It didn't even have to be a thorough explanation! It could just be, "I had to go because..." and whatever went in the blank.

* * *

><p>He felt sick, honestly. And cold. He didn't realize that he was shaking every now and then. All that ran through his mind was the baby. Well, the unborn one anyway. He had been warring with himself for at least ten full minutes now and just...he didn't know what to do, or even what to think. He didn't know what to make of this. It was sudden, so powerful that it had pulled him from school. He would undoubtedly be out for the rest of the day and possibly tomorrow.<p>

And Sam was still expecting him to answer her questions. He couldn't. He didn't know what to tell her. Did he want this baby? Did he really want it? He didn't know! He loved the twins, and ever since they came into his life he'd loved kids. But...now there was a baby unlike any other in the fact that it had his genes. No other child had his genes. Plus, this time it was _him_ who got Sam pregnant. Everything was so different with the twins, but now...now it was like there was going to be a little Danny, or a girl Danny that couldn't be called a little Danielle since Danielle was his cousin.

And unlike with Junior and Lilith, there were already other kids to take care of. Plus, Sam and Danny weren't married. He had yet to get his high school diploma, and what would happen to college if there was another baby? The twins were three, and still very dependent, but they were less dependent than when they were when they were babies. So in a way, they didn't need to be watched in such a cautious way. Only slightly less, but still...

He also just couldn't accept the fact that there was _his_ baby inside Sam. It had been so different with the twins! So different! But now...just... And he didn't know how to feel, what to think, what to say, and definitely not what to do. He didn't want to hurt Sam, especially because she was already so upset about being pregnant in the first place, but at the same time he couldn't risk lying to her by saying it was fine. It _wasn't_ fine...not yet at least. And adoption...he didn't know about adoption... What if they tried for another child in the future? They couldn't live with the feeling that they had dumped one of their children off on someone else while keeping the rest of them. Of course, there was no way either of them would even _consider_ abortion.

Even if the baby was unwanted after all, even if they couldn't keep it, it was a living being growing inside its mother. It was _alive;_ who were they to kill it?

He ran another hand through his hair. He had a biological kid, one that actually shared his blood, his genes. In a very literal way, it shared _him._ It didn't feel right though... With the twins, he never felt obliged to do anything, yet had come to love them and eventually wanted to be their dad. But now, with _his_ baby, he did feel that pressure. It was more a feeling of 'he _had_ to take care of it' than 'he wanted to'. Sam had already made it clear that she didn't want to force him into this.

But it was still his baby. And he still felt like he would be forced into it if he told her it was fine. And now it felt like he _had_ to tell her it was fine just because that was his kid. But...it just wasn't fine. Maybe it would be in time, but for now it just... For now, none of this was okay. None of it was 'fine' or 'alright'. It just wasn't. He didn't want to feel guilty about this but...

"Danny, are you okay?" she softly asked him.

No... No, he most certainly wasn't okay. He knew he was probably upsetting her even more by not answering, and he knew she was taking it as a sign of 'I have no desire to take care of this thing but I won't hurt your feelings by saying that', but he just couldn't bring himself to answer her. He didn't know what to say, and he didn't want to risk saying the wrong thing. It wasn't that he did or didn't want to take care of it, it was just that he didn't know anything right now. The only thing he knew was that this morning he was comfortable, and now he was definitely not.

God, he wanted to tell her _something!_ Anything, so long as it calmed her nerves. She was probably upset because of his silence. He at least wanted to tell her that he loved her, but...no words would come forth. It was like his body had just stopped functioning all of a sudden and wouldn't allow him to make a gesture or movement or...or anything! Even if his voice sounded like he was lying through his teeth, he wanted to tell her _something!_ He wanted her to know that, pregnant or not, he still loved her and always would.

God, what did he _do_ to her?!

**A/N**

**Poor guy, he just doesn't know what to do anymore.**

**THANKS SO MUCH! :'D You guys are amazing! I can't believe I got 373 reviews! I never expected anything beyond what I asked for! :'D Oh, thank you so much!**

**Uuuummmm, don't really have much else to say soooooo...moving on.**

**Review quota will be three hundred eighty-one (381).**

**And replies:**

**_Alisi Thorndyke-_ Heheheh, no kidding he snapped. ;D I had so much fun writing that out! And no, he would never lay a hand on a girl; he's pretty gentle in show and I didn't want to change that. He would never have actually beat up Dash, he only said that because of how angry he was at her. ARWP is constantly on hiatus, and I'm sick of it. So yes, chore or not, I do stress myself over updating it.**

**_HeroAce-_ ;P Danny's ghostly justice shall prevail! In the epilogue he got the death sentence after Phantom Planet had passed. Phantom Planet hasn't passed yet.**

**_ShadowDragon357-_ Yeah. :P And triplets, people were so mean! XD I mean poor Sam...! I was going to make her cry but I didn't want to overdo it. I'd already pushed it by making Danny give this elaborate, prolonged speech.**

**_AJ-_ :/ Well of course he won't be angry. But he's not happy, I can tell you that much. He's not really sad either, but fearful? Yes. He's a wreck right now lol! He's a mixture of confusion, anxiety, shock, and just a bundle of stuff like that. He's sort of busy freaking out right now so yeah, that's his reaction. :P lol I gave the twins my looks, and gave Lilith my personality. :3 I have fun kinda playing around with her and I'll have no problem keeping her in character.**

**_puppets4ever-_ lol Thanks! :)**

**_Magicalghostgirl-_ Not many people saw that coming, if any at all. ;) You're not alone. XD Poor Sam? Just look at Danny!**

**_princessbinas-_ "Still in the oven." lol That's one way to put it. A miscarriage would destroy him, seeing as how much he adores his family. He has a whole new view of children now. *smirks* Besides, I'm already putting him through torture! XD**

**_Inuyuke-_ lol I enjoyed putting that witch in her place. :3 Danny loves Sam and the twins too much to her do anything more. Relax, RELAX! Do I need to get out the tranquilizer again? *raises eyebrow***

**_Harmony's Entropy-_ lol Thanks! I won't say how many babies there are or if it'll be a miscarriage, but Daddy Danny is Daddy Danny all over again (even if the baby/babies can't be kept).**

**_Favorite Daughter of Hades-_ Thanks! :D**

**_Looka'sMagicHell-_ Aw, thanks. :') Fangirling is more than welcome.**

**_I'm. Only. Human. Dude._- There was unseen dialogue.**

**_sammansonrepilica-_ It's his kid. :) But remember that the kid in his notebook was for after they were married (his sketches weren't in chronological order, remember? He just drew whatever happened to pop into his head.)**

**_Sammi-_ Seems like no one was. :P**

**_AngiePangie0593-_ Pfft, it's far from perfect, but I'm glad you liked it. :)**

**_LittleBoomBoom-_ XD Most people voted yes, and second place was triplets.**


	28. Chapter 28

~Chapter 28~

"There's a kid in you!" he suddenly cried out.

"Uh, well y-"

"You're pregnant!"

"Y-"

"With a baby!"

"What else would it b-"

"It's inside you!"

"I kn-"

"And it's mine!"

"Y-"

"I'm the dad!"

"I alre-"

"Sam, you're pregnant!"

"I-"

"You're pregnant!"

"W-"

"With my kid!"

"St-"

"There's a kid!"

"Y-"

"Inside you!"

"Y-"

"It's mine!"

"A-"

"We did it!"

"Dan-"

"We only did it once!"

"D-"

"And now there's a kid!"

"D-"

"And it's inside you!"

"Da-"

"The kid's inside you!"

"Dan-"

"You're pregnant!"

"I kn-"

"It's a baby!"

"Y-"

"I! I! A baby! There's! It's!" He began to hyperventilate.

Sam quickly grabbed his shoulders and slapped him. "GOD, DANNY! BREATHE!"

He held a hand up to his cheek, where a reddening hand mark was beginning to show itself, and nodded. Yeah...okay. He didn't tell her he loved her, of course not. He'd freaked out instead. How nice for the both of them. He shouldn't have done what he did to her... It was his fault that she was pregnant. She didn't deserve all the extra stress and work that would come with another baby. He sighed. He did this. Obviously there were no regrets but he seriously just was _not_ ready for another baby. And he didn't want to tell Sam that... He didn't want her to think she'd made a mistake by getting pregnant. That...that wasn't her fault, that was his.

Of course, there was a human life down there, so it couldn't really be called a mistake.

"Geez, Danny," she sighed. "You're taking this worse than I am..."

Worse than she was? So...she really didn't want this baby? But unlike with the twins, he had a major say in what to do with the baby. His choice counted as 50%, and hers the other 50%. So this time, if he wanted the baby, his vote counted just as much as hers did, and they could work something out. But..._did_ he want the baby? It was a tough question. He didn't... He just... Agh, this was impossible right now. Thankfully her gestation would be a good nine months, since it was only one baby...hopefully. Oh, God, no, he couldn't think about multiple babies from one pregnancy, not again! That just...that wouldn't be good. Well, he had nine months to answer her questions...

Well, now, no. That wasn't right. He couldn't have nine months because she was at least three weeks. Actually, she was around one month exactly. All he had to do was remember the date of their first time, and that was the date of conception. Well, a few days around that time actually. As he remembered from Anatomy, fertilization could occur within a three day time frame. So pretty close to their first time, if not exactly their first time.

And the reality that fertilization _did_ occur had finally come crashing down on him. He didn't really want a child this soon; not another one at least! But here was another child nonetheless. And he really didn't know if he wanted to take care of it, to keep it. He had a good while to decide but if Sam chose to go ahead and look for a couple wanting a baby, he might not be able to get around it. The quicker, the better.

But what if he decided that he really didn't want it? Then what?

"Danny," she mumbled, "do you want it? This baby, I mean."

No... Well...maybe... Um...

"Look, let's just get out of the ghost zone. We're both stressed, we could probably use some rest." He paused to look at her. "Especially you; you're pregnant."

She sighed in frustration. "What do you want, Danny?"

He turned the Specter Speeder around and headed back home.

"Nothing," he answered. "I don't want anything."

"You don't want anything to do with the baby or...? I'm talking about the whole 'pregnant with Danny's child' ordeal. You've already freaked out. If you don't want the baby, that's fine. I told you, I'm not gonna make you do something you don't want to, or aren't ready for," she clarified. "Just...tell me what you want."

He wordlessly docked on the other side of the portal, back in the real world.

The two sat in the vehicle for a long while, neither of them uttering a single word for fear of upsetting the other.

There was no doubt in the halfa's mind that Sam was taking this the wrong way. He didn't know what to tell her. It wasn't that he didn't care about the baby, it was just that he wasn't ready for it. It wasn't like they had been _trying_ for another child. They weren't even married. Plus, they had more problems to deal with. Tucker already knew he got more intimate with Sam from time to time, so he would believe it if Sam were to tell him she was pregnant. Tucker would immediately know who the father was. But the rest of his family didn't know. They wouldn't even have suspected that Sam could be pregnant because they didn't know about all the cuddling he and Sam had been doing recently. They didn't know the secondary reason why Sam liked to snuggle against him when she felt cold or affectionate. So no, they wouldn't have suspected Sam of pregnancy. And they wouldn't have suspected him of siring a child. In fact, he was the 'white knight' and would _never_ try anything funny. And he hadn't until Sam had literally invited him to her body. Of course he didn't say no to that, no male would!

And it probably didn't help that he experimented on her, trying to see what annoyed her and what didn't in terms of seduction. Whenever he failed, she reacted by calling him a pervert and not letting him kiss her. When he succeeded, she would blush and kiss him back; usually that signaled the start of a potential 'cuddle'.

But most of the time it was an up-and-down kind of thing and he was still trying to figure out how to do it right. One thing always led to another, that much was easy enough to figure out, but he wanted to find out what order the actions should go in. Such as, kiss first or hug? Stroke hair or kiss cheek? Compliment or pull her close? Those kinds of things got him every time and he was determined to figure out which way he should go. It wasn't just for seductive reasons, though...he wanted to be better for her.

Now maybe he'd gotten a little _too_ good... Either that or he was _worse_ than he thought. Sam had told him numerous times that he was clumsy in bed. And as much as he hated to admit it, it was true. He would somehow manage to move them both to edge of the bed. Then he would slip and somehow fall off her, which resulted in him tumbling off the bed. If she was in the right position, she would go down with him. Maybe his clumsiness had something to do with it? Doubtful, but it was hard to believe it could've happened any other way. Falling off the bed seemed pretty legit right now.

"Sam..." he mumbled, his voice just barely above a whisper.

She lifted her head to look at him.

He took a breath. "I've made a lot of promises to you. I've kept to my word all this time, even though you probably don't remember half of them. But I remember every single one, including the very first promise I made. Do you remember what I said?"

She shook her head and waited for him to continue.

"I told you I would do whatever it took to help you. Tell me honestly, have I kept that promise?" he asked, sincere question without a hint of a statement in it.

"Well, yeah," she answered.

He held his arms open, inviting her in. She snuggled up against his chest and he closed his arms around her. "Then I won't break it now."

"I didn't ask about your promise, Danny," she reminded him. "I asked about how you felt. What do you think of me now that I'm pregnant? Again? This time with _your_ baby?"

He frowned. He saw Sam the same way; nothing about that had changed. It was just...he was numb. He didn't necessarily feel or think anything about that baby, despite the fact that it was his.

"I still see you as my dove," he replied, trying to avoid another question with the baby. "I look at you and see my beautiful bird who soars through the clouds on wings like an angel's."

She smiled.

He continued immediately, knowing she was focused on the compliment now. "I see a girl who is just _stunning._ She has the most amazing personality. She's drop dead gorgeous. And I love her more than she could ever imagine."

She decided to join in with, "And her boyfriend is the biggest liar on the planet."

"I-"

"But she loves him anyway. He's really cute. He's still the most clueless person she's ever seen. He's a goofball."

"She's sarcastic."

"He's trustworthy."

"She's telling the truth now."

"He's half dead."

"But she's my life." He looked down at her. "And even though you only wear black, you shine like a beacon."

She rolled her eyes and he frowned.

"Well you do. I'm just saying it out loud." He bent his head down to peck her forehead.

From the way it sounded, she wasn't thinking about drilling her questions into his head. But now he was torturing himself by drilling his own questions into his head. the main one right now was...how were they going to tell his family? And what about Sam's family? And Tucker? And what if the rest of the school found out, just like they had with the twins? And...OH MAN, SAM DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED AT SCHOOL! Oohhhh, that wasn't good... And she wasn't exactly in the mood to be told something like that right now...

Okay, okay...hold on... The priority right now wasn't school, it was telling his family; and if he could convince her to tell them, her family. Chances were, she would want _him_ to tell everyone. That was probably for the best, actually. He could tell his family and relieve her of the burden of having to do it herself. That would make it easier on him to at least _try_ to convince her to tell her own family. She needed closure with her parents; that much he knew. Problem was, Sam was too stubborn to admit it. So she dismissed every conversation he tried to have with her that concerned her parents.

But for now, he had to talk to her about his family and how she wanted this to go. Obviously she wanted a smooth, peaceful chat...but that just wasn't going to happen. When she was still pregnant with the twins, they believed him to be the biological father without question. Well, their reaction to it wasn't peaceful. They had been disappointed, and had even said so. They were supportive, sure, but they weren't very happy about a grandchild; although later on her pregnancy they were ecstatic about it, even more so when they found out it was twins.

So initial reaction would probably be the same as before. And in time, they would probably grow to like the idea of another grandchild. It might even be easier for them this time, because they absolutely _loved_ the twins. The thought of having another baby in the house could actually cause a warm feeling in them. After the uncomfortable confession, that is.

"Dove," he murmured into her hair.

"Hm?"

"We have to tell my parents." He felt her shift beneath him. "I don't want to wait like we did last time."

"I know," she sighed. "It'll probably be better to get this over with."

"I'm sure they'll be okay with it after it sinks in."

"Yeah...as if that's going to happen..." she muttered back. "Are they home right now? Both of them?"

"Yes."

She pushed away from his embrace and his arms went slack. He waited to see what she would do. Honestly, he wasn't expecting this to go so easy. He was expecting a fight of some sort, some kind of resistance. Apparently not.

They both got out of the Specter Speeder. Each mentally prepared themselves for the nervous talk that was already forming severe anxiety in them.

The halfa led Sam upstairs and into the living room, where they sat on the couch and took a few minutes to try to calm their nerves. It wasn't working at all.

Danny was the one who decided that a few minutes of torture was long enough, and called to his parents, who were only God-knows-where.

Sam bit her lip as footsteps were heard thumping into the living room...and stopped as soon as they were there.

She finally looked up. There was Maddie and Jack, just standing there waiting to be told something. Both of them had a serious expression on their face for some reason. when she saw Danny, she suddenly realized why. The goth wasn't entirely sure how _she_ looked, but her boyfriend looked like a nervous wreck, and his parents didn't have a hard time figuring out that they were about to have a serious conversation. Even Jack seemed intimidating.

"S-So...uh..." Danny fumbled. "Um...so Sam and I...um, we have...we have, um, s-something to tell you guys." He cleared his throat. "W-We need to discuss something with you."

She could only nod and stare up at the two adults standing in front of them, waiting unnaturally patiently for their son to continue. Danny snaked an arm around her waist, probably more to comfort and motivate himself than her.

"Mom, Dad, I think this is something you should sit down for..." Danny's voice trailed off. I was sure he was trying to keep himself together, and I was proven right when he tightened his hold on me.

"What do you need to talk about, sweetie?" his mother asked.

I _felt_ his heart trying to jump out of his chest. My own heart was trying to go with his. I swallowed.

"Promise me you won't get mad," he said.

Jack nodded his head and his mother merely kept her deathly gaze on him, and for a second it shifted to her, but landed back on Danny.

"Okay..." the halfa breathed. "You guys love the twins, right?"

They both smiled.

"Oh, just wait until they're older!" Jack boomed with pride. "I can teach them everything they'll ever need to know about ghosts! And maybe one day..." He wiped a false tear away from his eye. "Maybe one day, we'll get to watch that Phantom kid be dissected."

Ooooo...kayyyyy... She looked up at a blanching Danny. There went all chances of him telling them his secret...

"Oh, don't worry, sweetheart," Maddie assured her son, apparently noticing his altering skin color. "I'll make sure to teach them all about the weapons, that way Phantom can't hurt them. And who knows? Maybe they'll even grow to be inventors and make weapons of their own!"

It was supposed to be Danny who told them but...with what his parents had just been saying... Well, it had to be putting images into his head right now. His own kids hunting, killing, and dissecting him... Then creating weapons of their own... And worse, his kids being around ghosts and actually handling an ecto-gun... That had to be a lot to take in, especially for the person they were supposed to hunt. Now it seemed to be up to her to break the ice.

"Uhm...w-what Danny means to say is..." Her mouth hung open, but no words would force themselves out.

Forget it, nevermind, she wouldn't just delve into this. This was technically still Danny's family even though she lived with them...even though her own family had abandoned her.

She elbowed the hybrid's ribcage. He responded with a jolt and a hand was placed over the area she hit. For a split second he glared at her, but quickly turned to his parents, knowing they were still waiting for an answer.

A million questions had to be running through their heads right now. And if not, then they had to be very curious.

Slowly, her boyfriend leaned back and whispered to her, "Is it too late to politely back out and try again later...?"

She straightened and whispered back, "Yes."

He leaned forward again, his face still pale as the moon, and absentmindedly tapped a finger on his knee, thinking of a way to stall them.

"Well, honey, what is it you want to tell us?" Maddie asked gently.

Her gentle attitude only made Danny and Sam all the more nervous; they knew she wouldn't be so gentle once they told her, and even if they lied or rudely backed out, Sam would start to show within a month and a half, maybe two months tops because she was so slim. Knowing his mother, Danny knew she would figure it out immediately and confront them about it. No matter what, Sam's stomach would eventually swell to an unreal size, and it would be a dead giveaway of her pregnancy.

The halfa cleared his throat and, taking a deep breath in another attempt to calm down a little, managed, "We need to tell you something about-"

Maddie jumped up. "The twins?! Is it the twins?! Are they okay?! They didn't ingest something they weren't supposed to did they?! Were they ever down in the lab, did they have any exposure to ectoplasm?!"

Danny put his hands up and made a motion that allowed her to sigh in relief and sit back down.

"The twins are fine... Um...it's Sam... See, she's, uh... Okay, promise me you won't get mad. You _have_ to promise me you won't get mad before I tell you this," he said.

Maddie and Jack both nodded simultaneously. Amazing, really, how those two were complete opposites yet shared a very deep understanding of the other.

This would be the third time Danny had to clear his throat. The goth would imagine it was getting raw by now. And what he said next astonished her.

"I...I, um..." He lowered those baby blue orbs and powered through. "I got Sam pregnant..."

He... The way he'd said it made it sound like it was entirely his fault. He was trying to take the wrap for this...no, for _her. _He knew it was hard on her, so he was trying to pin it all on himself.

Instead of overreacting like the pair thought she would, Maddie cupped her forehead with one hand and closed her eyes. Disappointment. Just like last time.

She sighed. "Oh, Danny... I know you two are eighteen and hormonal; you even sleep in the same bed together... I mean, I should've seen this coming but... I thought you, of all people, would have more self control than this! I figured _Jazz_ was more likely to do something like this than you!" She opened her eyes and looked at her son, whose own eyes were still on the ground. "Ever since the accident with the ghost portal all those years ago, I've seen your self discipline incline. I know it's from the ghosts; you're so skittish around them and...sadly, so terrified...but I think that raising twins has pushed you to mature. So tell me...why would you sleep with Sam?"

They both blushed, but the question was aimed directly at Danny, meaning he'd succeeded in taking the blame.

"I just... I couldn't help myself...I guess..." he answered weakly.

"Listen," Maddie said softly, causing her son to look into her eyes. A spectrum of emotions rested within. "I already know the twins aren't really yours, biologically I mean; Sam told me everything herself." Jack cast a very confused and surprised look at his wife. There would undoubtedly be a discussion that Sam would probably get sucked in to soon after this one was over. "But this time, the baby _is_ yours. Now, I can understand how you came to love and accept the twins, being as you knew they weren't your responsibility to begin with and therefore you've had time to decide what you want to do. Even now Sam doesn't hold you to your promise to take care of them. But now you don't have that. This baby _is_ your responsibility and it _is_ something you need to decide on. You're the father; you're obliged to take care of it. However, there's also the choice of adoption, in case another baby is too much. My question to you is...what will you do?"

**A/N**

**ATTENTION PLEASE: The next update may take a good while. You'll see why, and trust me, you'll love why. ;) I promise.  
><strong>

**OH! Really quick, if you're good at poetry, I have to write a poem for my Fundamentals of Literature class. If any of you are good at poetry, do you think you can lend me hand? I suck at it... -_-"**

**XD Oh, how I do _love_ making this poor boy freak out. **

**So...let's recap, shall we? Danny freaked out to the point of hyperventilation. There's only a ton of confusion and unanswered questions, and he can't figure any of it out. Neither of them really knows what to do or think. Sam is worried that Danny won't want the baby. He's sidestepping all her questions, and now she's given up. He knows he'll eventually have to tell Sam about school. He told his parents that Sam is pregnant again. Maddie has indirectly revealed to Jack that the twins aren't biologically Danny's. Now Danny has to answer his mother's question.**

**A lot of stuff's going on, huh? ;) Just wait for the next chapter... It'll be pretty intense.**

**Okay, so...THANK YOU! OMG YOU GUYS ROCK SO HARD! :'D Just...so many reviews...! It literally gave me a LOT of drive to move on with this story, and just reading that you think...! :) It's really exciting, guys! Thank you so much! I'd hug you but...I'm over the internet.**

**Review quota: four hundred (400).**

**Review replies (you've so earned 'em!):**

**_Lucifers. Angel. 93_- Well then. ;) I guess I'll have to keep you entertained now won't I? Prft. Yeah, like I'm telling diddly squat.**

**_Looka'sMagicHell_- Yeah, the insight into his brain right now: "OMG I KNOCKED UP MY GIRLFRIEND!" What were your theories? Just curious.**

**_Alisi Thorndyke_- Hey, the poor guy just found out he's going to be a dad again; it took awhile to fully sink in. I have yet to read COD itself... :( I'm sorry... I'm so tied up right now, but I'll manage to read a chapter or two sometime this week, hopefully tomorrow.**

**_Magicalghostgirl-_ Yup, the poor fella just cracked. XD**

**_Mata Nui_- lol He halfway did. Still shocked, but getting the feeling back.**

**_princessbinas-_ LOL! Aw, careful of giving me ideas...! I may do just that, you know!**

**_Guest-_ :3 I thought it had a slight undertone of cuteness to it, just because he can't believe it. And yeah...he totally lost it.**

**_Sammi-_ lol Yeah, but he'll be okay. Just...traumatized. :P**

**_AJ-_ Yeah, I guess I did, didn't I? Bye, FF friend! :) I look forward to seeing your account if you ever get one.**

**_Favorite Daughter Of Hades_- Yes but I can't update right when it's full. :( I have to write out the next chapter and if it's full before then, then I can't update until the next chapter. Poor Danny doesn't know WHAT he's going to say. XP**

**_HeroAce-_ Thanks, and I can't tell you. :) You'll see eventually though.**

**_I'm_. _Only. Human. Dude-_ o.o ...Run, Danny...run...**

**_Inuyuke-_ Well, if you insist... *takes tranquilizer out and arms self with it* Well, he was already stressed because of Sam's mood swings, and she was kinda taking some of it out on him (which was explained two chapters ago when Tucker pointed out how stressed he was, and he was saying how stressed and moody Sam had become), then there's everything else piled onto that... Now his dove is pregnant and that just sends him over the edge. :P**

**_sammansonrepilica-_ Mm-hm. And thanks! :D**

**_shadowstar1999-_ C'mon, cut the poor halfa some slack here. XD Everything's piled up on him; when Sam told him she was pregnant again, it became one too many.**

**_ChristinCC-_ lol Ayup! ;P Poor lil' guy... He just can't get a break today, can he? Thanks! :)**

**_Glaze Hannah_- It wasn't insulting. Sam had to drop out of school because of the twins. She didn't trust a daycare facility to take care of them, Danny's parents wouldn't raise them, and Jazz didn't have the time. She didn't really get the 'burnt end of the stick' because she gets to spend time with her kids every day instead of (like Danny) suffer through school. **


	29. Chapter 29

~Chapter 29~

Danny looked up at his mother with a blank expression. He got the question, but the answer just wouldn't come to him. He honestly didn't know what he wanted to do. The baby was his...for now. Two three-year-olds... It was tough work, and Danny was only home with them after school and on weekends. Sam got the hard stuff. And right now it wasn't just the baby concerning him. Because he couldn't be there all the time, Sam was stuck taking care of them.

Well...not _stuck,_ exactly, that wasn't really the right word. She liked taking care of them.

"Mom..." he said at last, drawing her attention. "Can we go somewhere private?"

His mother looked at him in confusion. "Sweetie, we're in the living room and Jazz isn't-"

"No," he interrupted. "No, I mean just you and me; just the two of us. Not Sam, not Dad, not Jazz...just us."

Her son promptly stood up and walked toward the stairs down to the lab. Maddie followed, still unsure of what exactly her son needed to talk to her about that hadn't already been put out on the table.

Meanwhile, the goth had to face Jack, who was so very eager to know what his wife meant by 'not biologically Danny's'.

"I can explain!" she quickly said, before a third person had time to yell at her.

"I think you should..." Jack muttered. "I mean, my son...! Does he know about this?"

Oh, great... Just great... Here we went with the screeching and the yelling and the shouting...etc... And for at least an hour she would have to listen to false assumptions and what could easily be considered insults. And for an hour, Sam would have to wait...and wait...and wait some more for him to calm down long enough for her to speak. Just one chance, one break was all she needed.

"Sam!" he yelled.

It was only one word in the sentence she had tuned out, but it reached the core of her conscience at ate away at it. Why was it so hard to give someone the benefit of the doubt? She didn't do anything aside from taking a wrong turn! And it wasn't like she _knew_ she was going to be raped! Thankfully he would be the last one she would have to deal with in this family. Except now she was pregnant again, this time with Danny's baby, and her family would have to kn- ...You know what? No. Her family didn't deserve to know. They were worse than Paulina! And she wanted nothing more to do with them, despite the part that had been telling her for years now to explain what actually happened as opposed to what they thought had happened. Even then they might now believe her though. Danny's family didn't even let her explain. She always had to take the chance, the one small opening in the breaks of their ranting to explain herself.

She suddenly noticed the brief silence and- Oh...it was over...

Nevertheless, she said, "I was pounced."

Jack almost seemed to shut down for a moment. His mouth kept going but he didn't seem to actually be focusing on any of the words he was saying. All that came out was a bunch of empty, meaningless, absent sentences. After a few minutes he finally stopped talking and looked at her.

"What?" he said.

Honestly she didn't expect him to hear her, or acknowledge her words if he did hear her.

She repeated, "I was pounced."

Looking away for a moment, he asked, "What do you mean by that?"

She sighed and put a hand over her stomach, knowing there would be a bulge there eventually. "I mean some random man attacked me three years ago when I was walking home. I took a secluded path and, to put it in a nutshell, got pregnant with the twins."

"What do you mean 'attacked'?"

Because obviously that wasn't very clear. "I don't want to spell it out. Sorry if that seems rude but it's not an easy topic for me."

"Did they ever find him?" Jack asked.

This was a little surprising to her. No one else had asked anything about the man, only if she was okay and the crap that everyone asked even though the answer should be so obvious.

"Um...no, I don't think they did," she replied.

"Do you know him?"

She shook her head.

"Do you remember what he looked like?"

Again, she shook her head. "No. Danny found me in a bad storm and brought me here. He said I was unconscious when he found me and later on he told me I lost my memory of what he looked like because the man knocked me out. I don't have a clue."

"Hey, Sam!" Danny called out as he was coming back into the living room. He quick rushed to her side and whispered in her ear, "Don't worry, I'm saving you from my dad." He then chuckled. "I don't know what you guys were talking about, but it looks like he needs to calm down." He grew a little louder, this time audible to his father. "I think we should go out for a bit."

He winked to his girlfriend.

She quickly nodded. "Yeah, I think we should." Anything to save her from this horrible conversation. She'd already explained it to two members of Danny's family, she most certainly didn't need a third. Although she knew Jack would ask her when they got back from who-knows-where. Usually they went for a walk or spent time together in the park. They did something of that sort-

She was jerked from her thoughts by Danny's hand pulling her forward and out the door.

He finally seemed to get more serious than he had in the house. "Hey, are you okay? And you told my mom? Does she know...you know...about everything? And what about my dad, were you just talking about it with him? Does he know? Oh, and my sister... Do they all know?"

She nodded. "Yes, they all know. Your dad was actually the last one to find out."

"How did they all react?"

He gently held her hand as they began to walk toward the park.

She sighed. "In short, I was called a slut about a billion-"

He stopped and grabbed her shoulders. "THEY _WHAT_?!"

She took his hands off her. His eyes were furious; they weren't the normal baby blue. Now they were an electric girly green...without the 'girly' part.

"Calm down," she said. "What did you expect them to think? It's not like anyone will just guess everything on the spot and be _right_ about it."

"But they-!"

"Had a normal reaction," she interrupted. "They cut me off as soon as I told them they weren't born to you and started ranting on about how I slept with someone else and was using you. I managed to find breaks, though, and took that as a chance to explain myself. After that everyone stopped assuming I was some trashy girl who would sleep around with any boy who came my way."

"Well..." He kissed her forehead, his eyes returning to their original color. "I don't know why they would think that about you. You're too adorable to be anything like that."

"Says Baby Blue." She sighed heavily. "Danny, I'm not cute. My entire upper torso is covered in scars. I mean, you saw them, you know what I look like."

He smiled. "So you haven't seen your face yet? Funny, I thought you would've by now. Sam, I told you before, I don't care about your scars. So what if you have them? That was three years ago. Look at you now, you're all better and you're so much happier than you used to be. You're fun to be around, _yes_ you're cute as a button, and I love every part of you."

She stayed silent the rest of the walk to the park.

"And you know that, right?" Danny asked once they were there. "That I love you?"

She used a nearby swing as her seat and rattled the swing beside her, beckoning him to sit down with her.

"Of course I do," she answered.

He eased into it and slowly rocked himself. "And I would never hurt you."

"I know."

He fiddled with his thumbs for awhile before saying, "I made you something. I sort of...well, didn't do a very good job... I think you might like it though. Hopefully you will; I did my best."

He dug into his pocket and fished out a folded up piece of paper. Opening it, he scanned through it a couple of times and nodded to himself. He then folded it back up and handed it to her. "Yeah, definitely not good, but not bad either. Read all of it, okay? It has as much depth as I can possibly write down."

She took it and unfolded it. Amazingly, it was a poem...her favorite form of writing. And it was long, which was saying something since that meant it wasn't the typical Valentine's Day poem, that whole 'roses are red' thing. The most important thing was that Danny wrote it, and that meant more than the length of a poem.

It was cheesy, corny, sappy...but completely original.

_I want you to know,_  
><em>There's a girl that I love,<em>  
><em>Who always wears black,<em>  
><em>But I call her my dove.<em>

_My dove is wonderful,_  
><em>She is truly outstanding,<em>  
><em>And I really want to be,<em>  
><em>What she should be demanding.<em>

_She's told me I'm shy,_  
><em>And that's probably true,<em>  
><em>But nevertheless,<em>  
><em>Our love really grew.<em>

_She calls me clueless,_  
><em>There's a reason for that,<em>  
><em>Since I couldn't tell,<em>  
><em>She was all I looked at.<em>

_Once I learned,_  
><em>She's all I can see,<em>  
><em>I couldn't stop staring.<em>  
><em>She's the only one for me.<em>

_It's her that I love,_  
><em>It's her I adore,<em>  
><em>She is the one,<em>  
><em>That my heart beats for.<em>

_And I love her all the more,_  
><em>Through every trouble we face,<em>  
><em>And through every problem,<em>  
><em>Since this is the case.<em>

_She's been by my side,_  
><em>Along for the ride,<em>  
><em>And on the tour of life,<em>  
><em>She's been my guide.<em>

_It's me and her,_  
><em>From here on in,<em>  
><em>And she'll be with me,<em>  
><em>Through thick and through thin.<em>

_And through it all,_  
><em>She's made me believe,<em>  
><em>In what she's sure,<em>  
><em>That I can achieve.<em>

_She's the only one,_  
><em>Who will love each half,<em>  
><em>And will praise each part,<em>  
><em>And smile and laugh,<em>

_As she bares her heart,_  
><em>To my open soul,<em>  
><em>And makes me complete.<em>  
><em>She makes two halves whole.<em>

_She pulls me up,_  
><em>When life takes its toll,<em>  
><em>And helps me to reach,<em>  
><em>My ultimate goal.<em>

_And I'll help her up,_  
><em>Every time that she falls,<em>  
><em>And when she needs me,<em>  
><em>I'll answer her calls.<em>

_There's a girl that I love,_  
><em>And her name is Sam,<em>  
><em>But she won't admit,<em>  
><em>That she's my little lamb.<em>

_I want her to know,_  
><em>That I'll treat her well,<em>  
><em>That I'll do anything,<em>  
><em>To make her heart swell.<em>

_I want to be someone,_  
><em>That she should deserve,<em>  
><em>But it took me three years,<em>  
><em>Just to work up the nerve.<em>

_I may be half dead,_  
><em>But she is my life,<em>  
><em>So I hope I can ask her,<em>  
><em>If she'll be my wife.<em>

Sam clapped a hand over her mouth and stared at the last line for the longest of times, rereading it over and over to make sure she'd read it right.

It was impossible, right? Was this the wrong poem? She highly doubted it...he'd looked it over before giving it to her. Was he actually proposing? That couldn't be right, this was _Danny_! It would've taken him a hundred years to do this! And the wedding... Was he ready for one? Was...was this even real? No, couldn't be. Felt like it. Looked like it. It _was_ real...but how? No way, this had to be some sort of trick or...or a dream! Or _something_! It wasn't like she was Cinderella being asked to the royal ball without the use of her fairy godmother. Sure, she had her prince, but you'd think it was too soon for him.

Key phrase...'for _him_'. For her, even last year would've been good. But she knew for a fact that if this was the truth of reality and he was proposing right here, right now, he would wait like ten years before being prepared for a wedding. For a brief moment she asked herself if Danny even knew that marriage came after engagement. The answer was obvious but this was Danny. A proposal at eighteen didn't seem like something he would do.

Yet here he was.

She finally stopped staring at the last line and moved her eyes from the paper to look at the swing beside her. It was empty. Her eyes automatically lowered.

And there was Danny.

He was down on one knee looking as absolutely nervous and scared as one could get. One of his hands held a small black box with a velvet covering. The other held onto the lid. She couldn't help but notice how visibly he was shaking. Inside the little box was a band of silver with a diamond in the center. Sam knew the rest of the ring was hidden beneath the padding that thickly lined the bottom of the box.

"Sam, will you marry me?"

Tears formed on the rims of her eyes and she smiled. It _was_ real...! He _was_ proposing...! Now the question was, was he delirious on flower pollen again or was he sane? Well, actually, a side effect of the pollen poisoning was a chameleon-eyed look, where both his eyes would point in opposite directions. He was looking straight at her, waiting for an answer. His eyes were normal.

Her smile widened and she slid out of the swing seat to put her arms around him.

He let out a small breath but then paused.

"Um... I-I need a solid yes or no..." he mumbled.

She laughed and kissed his cheek. "Yes."

The rest of that breath came out as a sigh of relief. And not the little kind of 'whew!' relief; no, it was the big kind of 'OH THANK GOD!' relief.

She said yes, because she loved him and knew he would be the perfect husband for her. He was already a perfect-and overprotective-father for the twins.

He stood up and offered her his hand. She took it, pulled herself up, and watched as he slid the ring on her left ring finger.

Now it was official.

**A/N**

***squeals like a crazy obsessed phangirl* YAY! It's not the longest chapter, nor is it the most detailed chapter, but... Yeah...okay...I apologize for how long it took, it's just...I really, REALLY suck at poetry, okay? This was extremely hard to do even with four other authors and my Fundamentals of Literature teacher helping me (I hope you now realize that I used the last A/N's request for a "poem assignment" to throw you off).**

**We all need to give a special hand to the following people:**

**Alisi Thorndyke**

**Sandrastar**

**ChristinCC**

**sammansonrepilica**

**Mrs. J (my Fundamentals of Literature teacher)**

**So thanks, you guys. I bet you found your contributions in there. :P And I did hold to my promise about getting it all in order.**

**Everyone, I'm sorry but I can't do review replies, review quota, or even 3,000 words for this chapter. See, I have seizures. Right now I have a HORRIBLE headache and I think I might've had another one. :( I'm sorry, you guys...**


	30. Chapter 30

~Chapter 30~

"Sam," he said, looking her in the eye. "I promise I'll be the best I can for you, the twins, and..."

He tenderly put a hand on her stomach. Sam looked confused for a moment and honestly, he wanted to smile at that. He had been discussing two things with his mother down in the lab...the baby and proposing to Sam. He felt inclined to tell his mom about marrying Sam simply because she was his mother; of course she would want to know things like this.

When they were talking about the baby, however, things became all the more serious. His mother mentioned something about a downside to keeping it. She said it would be even more work and that taking care of twins had proven to be stressful at times. Another baby, and a newborn at that, would be all the harder to handle. She said she would help out when needed but that just like with the twins, he and Sam would be the parents. It almost steered him away from the idea.

And then they talked about the brighter side... He hardly remembered any of what she said, but he knew she'd said something that really got his imagination going. He imagined having another baby and being tired, but happy to have another child to hold in his arms when he got home...after the twins were done attacking him. Then in the later years, the baby would be running around and he would have another chance to play horsey and give piggyback rides. The twins were growing older, as much as he hated that fact, and they would be calling him 'Dad' before he even knew it. He would have another three years of 'Daddy' with another baby.

His numbness finally went away as his mom continued talking and he realized that being a dad all over again was even in his notebook of the life he wanted with Sam. Even now it was setting in that he really did want another baby. Wasn't expecting one this soon, obviously, but there was a little miracle inside Sam that he wasn't willing to turn down.

"If it's a girl, you think we could name her Vanessa? I always did like that name," he said, looking down at her stomach and trying to imagine the baby as a tiny bean, just the way the twins would've looked had Sam actually _gotten_ an ultrasound in her early months.

She smiled. "Maybe. Do you want the baby or is that just a name you're thinking of?"

His turn to smile. "Sam, I'm about to be a dad all over again. Do you remember my creepy notebook?"

"The one full of poorly drawn stick people?" she teased.

"Yeah, the one that you just insulted. Don't you remember the drawing of me passing out on the hospital floor while you're in bed holding a baby? And you were laughing at me? Another baby was what I wanted. It just... It took me awhile to see that; I wasn't expecting that kind of news when you told me."

The goth bit her lip and asked, "And if it turns out to be twins again?"

He gave a small chuckle and replied, "Sam, I was fifteen, I wasn't even their dad, and we were both going through a pretty rough time when I found out you were going to have twins. And I told you I wanted to help you raise them. I was fifteen but I loved you all so much that I wanted to be the father. I would be lying through my teeth if I said I didn't want another baby, twins or not."

He quickly pulled out his wallet from the back pocket of his jeans. A proposal was supposed to be formal in most cases but he decided that it would be casual so she wouldn't suspect anything. And lucky for him, the plan worked. She didn't grow suspicious and the poem gave him plenty of time to get ready. And to fail at attempting to calm down, if only a little bit.

He opened his wallet and pictures came cascading out in a small, plastic album.

"You know, even before the twins were born, you gave me something so _amazing_, Sam." He handed his wallet to her so she could see the pictures. "You gave me the perfect life. I have two beautiful children and another on the way. I have a sister and parents who adore them. And I have a fiance who gave me all that. I don't think you realize how happy I am. I'm not saying it's a smooth road; it does get a little bumpy sometimes. But then I just think back to being able to play with the twins and hold you every night and I can't even describe the feelings I get from that. I'm the luckiest guy...and ghost...in the world." He gently kissed her. "And without you that just wouldn't be possible. I know it's been rough but...thank you so much, Sam."

She smiled. "You really love having a family, don't you?"

"I couldn't ask for a better life than the one I have now," he replied.

She laughed. "I never thought I would be getting engaged to my best friend. And I certainly never thought I would be having his baby."

"Neither did I but I'm pretty sure I would've been fine with it four years ago."

"A baby, Danny? You would've been fine knowing that at fourteen?"

"Most likely. Maybe. Hopefully. You let me know when it starts kicking, okay? I'm already looking forward to feeling little bumps on your belly."

She laughed and swatted at his shoulder.

"What? It's the truth," he said. "I don't get to feel it like you do."

She rolled her eyes in response. "Trust me, you don't want to. Having a baby punch your guts isn't as magical as you might think."

"Well that just means it loves you," he laughed out. "You're loveable!"

"Doesn't the new daddy have school?"

He held his hands up in defeat. "Okay, okay, just let me rock the newest Fenton first."

He cleared up her confused look by scooping her up and rocking her side to side. She instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Do I need to sing a lullaby before I go off all on my own to the cold learning dungeon?" he asked, letting a goofy smile play on his lips.

She pecked him. "No, now get outta here, you."

"Ain't that mean. I'm not going just yet, though," he replied, a small hint of defiance in his voice.

"Why's that?"

He gave her a quick kiss and answered, "I gave you that ring for a reason."

At first she had no idea what he was talking about, but when he raised an eyebrow, it hit her that he wanted to show off his new fiance to his parents.

"Now come, my dear!" he said in a British accent. "We have things to be done!"

**A/N**

**DON'T KILL ME!**

**Okay, I know this is short, I really do. :( And I'm so sorry about that! I got stuck in a horrible rut and I started to panic (whether you believe it or not is entirely up to you) when I realized just how long I kept you waiting. Then I saw how many words were in this chapter and I just couldn't take it anymore. I'm so sorry for the short chapter but I had to update! You have no clue how guilty I feel... D:**

**I will start trying to make it up to you by posting a poll and letting you decide which gender(s) the bab(y/ies) is/are. I had everything set down but after this I think you deserve to decide for yourselves. :)**

**No review quota (gave you guys crap with the wait as it is...), but definitely well-earned replies:**

**_Alisi Thorndyke_- :D Of course you did! And yeah, I figured it was time Jack knew. I mean, he was left out of the loop for a LONG time. :P**

**_NoOne's Twilight_- Thanks! :) And make sure to not kill me over the wait...**

**_princessbinas_- Thank you, and I do. :) It wasn't a seizure, it was just a really bad, random headache. Probably light-related.**

**_ChristinCC_- Haha thanks! And thanks again! It wasn't a seizure after all.**

**_HeroAce_- XD Yes! Danny finally had the courage! (the force was with him)**

**_ShadowDragon357_- I'm fully aware that teen pregnancy is often over-romanticized but before making her pregnant I took into consideration both their personalities and how much they've matured since the twins came along. We all know Sam didn't want them for the longest of times but loved them to death when they were born, which means she knows she'll love this baby just as much and wouldn't be able to part from it. Danny loved the twins before Sam did and wanted to help her raise them should she choose to keep them. He realized how amazing it felt to be a dad despite the twins not even being his. He looks at the twins and sees his kids, not a pair of children unrelated by blood; he doesn't care about that. He even wanted a baby in the future (which I could just see him doing anyway), meaning that he wanted to have another child and wanted to be a father again. He's grown a LOT, as we all can clearly see, and has matured (thanks to Lilith and Junior) into a family man. He loves kids and now he realizes that he's wanted another one anyway, now here's another one and he doesn't want to make the mistake of turning down an opportunity to be a dad again. Plus, I'm VERY strongly against abortion and both Sam and Danny, in the show, would seem to be against it as well (especially Sam, considering she doesn't agree with hurting an animal, let alone killing a human). So there will never be any terminations in this story. EVER.**

**_sammansonrepilica_- Aw, you knew? Well that sucks for me. -_- Darn it.**

**_Samtastic V2.0_- It's fine. You're not the only one who gets a little passionate about my stories. :P I never thought people would like any of my works so much... Your rough review actually made me happy to know you cared so much. And I actually did just go see my neurologist recently. I'm seizure-free!**

**_Life Of Red_- They say it's cheesy, so be it! :D I happen to like cheesy; makes me blush. But it wasn't all me. I got help from 4 other authors and my teacher.**

**_AJ_- I know but I just feel obliged to reply since I've been doing it all this time. :P Besides, some people read their replies.**

**_TheNinjaKitty13_- *gasps* YAY A COOKIE! I'm the happiest author in the world... :'D**

**_Lucifers. Angel. 93_- Well, he was wanting to marry her for some time and now that he's got a baby on the way, it's the right thing to do. Plus he has another reason that kind of pushed him over the edge.**

**_Mata Nui_- X) Trust me, all this will fall into place quite nicely, especially in their teen years but it'll take me forever to reach it at the pace I'm going... -_- The twins are still three and now I have a pregnancy period to wait through.**

**_nat_- Welp. She slapped him last chapter to stop him from hyperventilating.**

**_Favorite Daughter Of Hades_- XD**

**_LittleBoomBoom_- XD Awwww! I kept smiling the whole time I was writing it! Poor nervous Danny... He was trying to get it right.**

**_shadowstar1999_- :D Yep! Lilith, Junior...and um... :/ Uh... Well, the poll will decide the gender(s)...**

**_Inuyuke_- I'm officially seizure-free! :D Still gotta go back every year but seizure-free!**

**_PlasticPencils_- ...You make a great point with the wedding dress... I didn't think about that...**

**_TripleAAA1183_- I think I PMed you that answer.**

**_Life_- :P It's miss or ma'am. But thank you so much! :D**

**_Looka'sMagicHell_- He had every reason to, so hey, he went for it. XD**

**Remember the poll! And I'll be harassing you until the poll goes down. So get your vote in while you can, that way my harassment isn't directed at you. :P**


	31. Chapter 31

~Chapter 31~

Danny opened the door quietly and slowly, with Sam right behind him. His parents weren't in the living room. His mother, he knew, had to either in the lab or kitchen one. The whole house was pretty quiet, in fact, except for some rustling upstairs.

Sam rolled her eyes. Of course he would want to check that out...

He walked in and looked around. The rustling sound was still heard.

"Kids?" Danny called out.

He heard Junior giggle from behind the couch and smiled. Where Junior was, Lilith was. Where Lilith was, Junior was. They were just playing hide-and-seek.

"Hmmmmm..." he hummed. "I wonder where the twins are... Dove, have you seen them?"

She shrugged and put her hands behind her back.

"No, I haven't... I just don't know where they went...!" she replied.

This time both the twins giggled. Lilith peered over the couch and her parents looked the other way, pretending to be looking for them. She giggled again.

"Hey, you know what? I think they might be behind the couch," Sam 'suggested'.

"No we're not!" Junior yelled out, quietly laughing a few seconds later.

"Oh!" Danny cried. "I think I heard something!"

"No you didn't!" he shouted as if they _weren't_ ten feet from him.

Sam almost started to laugh, but the halfa quickly covered her mouth and shook his head.

"Well if they're not behind the couch, I guess we shouldn't check there," he sighed.

"Don't find us, Daddy," Lilith said. "I want Mommy to find us."

Danny frowned and whispered into Sam's ear, "Isn't that like parental racism?"

She peeled his hand from her mouth. "You want Mommy to find you? Where are you at?"

"Come find us!" she repeated.

"Are you behind the couch?"

"Yes," Junior said, quickly to be countered with Lilith's, "No."

Danny bit his lip and covered his mouth, trying his best not to laugh. These particular twins strove to prove how wrong people were when they assumed twins were the same; these two were exact opposites. It was funny, though, because Lilith was like the alpha twin; she called the shots on the clever deceptions, cunning escapes, and masterful sneak attacks. They were just funny to watch. Time and time Danny and Sam had joked around saying they should videotape them and send the tape to a reality TV show.

Sam crouched on a couch cushion and listened silently to the twins. They were so terrible at being quiet when they hid... One of them was shuffling around.

She suddenly popped up from the couch and shouted, "Found ya!"

The twins immediately scattered, Lilith going one way and Junior going the other, both squealing and giggling uncontrollably.

Junior, when he realized that he wasn't following his sister, turned around and ran past Mommy crying, "Wait, Sissy!"

'Sissy' was what he'd grown to call his sister. Likewise, he was called 'Bubba'. And they always traveled together no matter what. Ever since they could crawl they were inseparable and that had to be the one thing about them that hadn't changed over the years. Of course, saying 'over the years' to Danny would send him into a depression episode, so nobody ever said anything about 'how time flies', 'where did the time go', 'over the years', 'grow up so fast', etc. Sometimes Sam believed he'd grown a little _too_ attached to them. He was possessive of them, like all parents were of their children, but he was so overprotective that... Ugh...poor Lilith and her forbidden romance. That poor girl would never get married. Heck she wouldn't even have a date! All hopes of a boy were dashed the moment she was born.

Sam just felt bad about when she started liking boys, as every girl did eventually. Danny would go crazy when that time came and suddenly all boys would be a serious threat. That poor child... Dating was already a no-no. And Sam? Pfft, like she would be able to change Danny's mind... Maybe she could arrange secret get-togethers or something. And then later she would find out that Danny had been spying the entire time and had ruined the secret date by suddenly appearing out of the shadows and putting his arm around Lilith. He was tall, strong, and if push came to shove, intimidating. It was more than enough to repel any boy from so much as looking at Lilith. So...that would be wonderful for her.

And it would be wonderful for the goth to explain to her daughter, who would be begging her to change her dad's stubborn mind, that there was nothing she could do. Danny would simply be too against letting her date to change his mind. Sam could always wave a moon flower in his face but...she'd rather not relive that. It was insanity in the house for what, three weeks? Felt like three _months_...

And she couldn't help but wonder if Danny would want Lilith and Junior to know he was half ghost. They were starting to remember things now and she noticed how careful he was about changing around them. He always snuck off while they weren't looking or he distracted them somehow.

Of course, after he transformed, the idiot that dared come near the twins was beaten into oblivion. She'd seen numerous skid marks from Johnny 13's motorcycle. They could stretch all the way down the road, occasionally _longer_ than that! She never really watched those fights and kept herself occupied by ushering the twins elsewhere. A while back, both Danny and Sam had decided that they wouldn't be allowed to see any ghost fights because the violence would be too much for them. In a strange way, though, it was good to have that kind of violence around. There weren't many ghosts stupid enough to come near the twins. Danny gave them a serious beating if they did. She had seen some of them run away from the twins before just because they knew what would happen if they were caught. Danny had made it clear that the twins were off limits, resulting in a wide safe zone for them.

She couldn't help but wonder what would happen if Vlad came along. Not only had Danny grown stronger, but he grew extremely aggressive toward any ghost daring enough to come near the twins. Vlad was one of those buttons that should never be pressed, so that would increase his aggression. Then if he came near the twins... It would be interesting to see what would happen. Ever since Lilith and Junior were born, Danny never fought blindly like he used to. He normally kept himself under control. But would he lose that control if he saw Vlad?

"Hey, Danny?" she said. "Just out of curiosity, what would you do if Vlad came near the twins?"

She saw his eyes flash an angry green. "Beat the living crap out of him. Let him come within one inch of his life. Possibly kill him. Hopefully break every bone in his body. Take twenty years off his life expectancy and send him to therapy for the time he has left..._if_ he has any time left."

Well...okay then. She knew he wasn't kidding about that. And if he saw Vlad near the twins, it would be a very, _very_ painful day for Vlad. He would get the beating of a lifetime and, like almost every single other ghost, would flee from the twins the moment he saw a hair on their heads.

"Why, did he come near them?" the halfa asked.

She quickly shook her head. "No, he didn't. It was just a random thought that popped into my head."

"Well if he comes near you or the twins, call me and cover your eyes so you won't have to see the bloodshed," he said, already tensing.

She put a hand on his shoulder and sighed. "Danny, don't worry. I'm pretty sure word's reached Vlad through all the ghosts you've beaten half to after-death. If it was one ghost he might be tempted to come here but I've seen so many of those ghosts run for their afterlives when they see the twins... There's no doubt they've been warning other ghosts and Vlad probably would've taken their word for it at that point."

"I'm keeping my eyes peeled nonethe-"

He was cut off by a knocking at the front door and turned to look.

He went to open it and as he passed the staircase, he heard the same rustling noise Sam knew would be investigated later.

Tucker was standing there with a concerned expression on his face.

"Hey, everything okay?" he asked. "Danny, you kind of ran off and you didn't come back. What happened?"

Danny grinned. "Well...a few things actually. Sam's not my girlfriend anymore, first off."

Tucker frowned and looked past his friend to see Sam. "Wait, what? What happened? You guys fight or something?"

Sam came up and invited Tucker in, sitting him on the couch. Danny closed the door and sat with them.

"We didn't break up," she said.

She held out her left hand and wiggled her ring finger.

Tucker's mouth might as well have dropped to the ground.

"Dude! You finally...! It's about time! Sam, how long did he keep you waiting?" He laughed. "You'll _have_ to tell me that story!"

Danny smiled. "There's more. Sam, your turn."

"Well," she started, "I'm due in about eight months."

"Due for what? Exam or something?" the geek guessed.

"Something like that," she replied, placing a hand over her stomach. "There's another Fenton on the way."

Shock washed over the techno-geek and it was a brain fry moment.

"She's making me beg for 'Vanessa' if it's a girl, and we haven't really thought of any boy names yet. But we have eight months so I think we can decide before then," Danny added.

"But...I mean, you're eighteen... Weren't you upset at all?" he asked.

Sam nodded. "Yeah. I told Danny to come home because I was so upset. At first he took it really well and tried to calm me down. Then, later on, he completely freaked out and I had to slap him to stop him from hyperventilating. At first I thought he didn't want the baby but after he proposed, he told me he was just numb. Then he reminded me of that creepy notebook he had and said having another baby was what he wanted all along."

"So...Danny wants the baby...but do you?" he continued.

He didn't miss his friend's frown. Either the halfa was nervous because he didn't know or he was sad because Sam didn't want it.

She smiled. "No, I wanted it all along, but I figured Danny would be upset, so I got upset. For now, what I want is for the morning sickness and weird cravings go away. And I'll be so happy once the baby's out of me!"

"I'm looking forward to feeling it kick," Danny added.

"I'm not," she mumbled.

Tucker nudged her and said, "Come on, Sam, we don't get to feel it like you do. When it starts kicking, can I feel too?"

"That is _literally_ the exact same thing Danny told me," the goth replied. "But yeah, I'll let you feel it too."

Tucker smiled. "Well, hey, I'm happy for you." He reached out to hug Sam, then Danny. "I've seen you in action and I know you'll make great parents...again!"

The halfa smiled with his friend. It would be a long wait, but he would be having another baby. He honestly did believe that four years ago, he would've been scared of the responsibility, but would grow to love a child whether it was his or not. Well, maybe. He was much more mature now than he was back when he was fourteen. But now that he was older and had kids, it was like a void he didn't even know he had had been filled.

The rustling upstairs got louder for a few seconds. It was enough to make Danny's curiosity win the little debate on when exactly to go check it out.

"Hey, Sam, Tucker," he said, "Go somewhere else for a minute. If it's a burglar or something, I don't want anyone getting hurt."

"And if it's an innocent raccoon?" Sam countered.

"Rabies," he answered. "And Sam, don't go in the lab. Too many chemicals."

She rolled her eyes but left anyway, soon to be followed by Tucker.

Danny made his way upstairs. The noise was coming from Jazz's bedroom. When he was fourteen he would've rushed in, not thinking he would catch Jazz changing clothes or something, but then that one time had struck one night when she was getting ready for bed... Ever since then he wasn't exactly eager to rush into anyone's bedroom again.

He put his ear to the door and listened carefully. There were small whispers he couldn't quite make out and tiny giggles. The rustling continued.

He took a deep breath. "Jazz?"

Suddenly everything stopped and the room fell silent. Then an abrupt thump was heard followed immediately by a door opening and closing.

"Yes?" she said.

"Is everything okay in there? I heard noises."

"Everything's fine, you can go away now."

"You sure? Because I thought I heard something..." he said suggestively.

"It's nothing, Danny!" she said, a slight hint of irritation in her voice. "We're fine, just go away now!"

He frowned. "_'We're'_? There's someone else in there? Who?"

"No, no one else is in here...I meant you and me. We, as in _you and I_, are fine. Okay?"

This time he held a stiff face. "Jazz, I have other ways of getting in your room, so you might wanna tell me what's going on."

"Just...lady issues," she said.

He could tell by her tone that she was lying.

"Jazz, you have until the count of three to tell me that heck's going on before I come in and find out myself. One..."

"I'm not one of your kids, Danny!" she angrily yelled.

"Two..."

"Danny!"

"Three. Ready or not, here I come."

He phased through his sister's door and immediately noticed a few things that were off about her room. She always kept her room perfect. In fact, she was probably OCD about that. Her bed was messed up. The covers weren't thrown back, but they'd definitely been tussled around. There was a brown shirt stuffed under the bed. Funny...Jazz never wore brown shirts... For some reason she just didn't like them.

Jazz herself look off as well. Her face was heated with a blush and her hair was ruffled a bit. Hm... Jazz was neurotic about her hair... It always had to be kept perfectly straight until it came to the bottom, where an angled curve reaching height of ninety degrees had to be made. Her hair wasn't in order, she was blushing madly, and there was a very unconvincing smile on her face.

"What are you hiding?" he asked.

Her smile turned into a frown. "Huh?"

"Jazz, I have a daughter. I noticed things in _preschool_ that told me whether she did something she wasn't supposed to or not. I've lived with you since I was born and I _know_ how you work. So tell me, what's going on with you?"

The half crossed his arms and cast a pointed glance over to the shirt.

Her breath caught for a moment and the obvious smile came back.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "I just had a friend over, that's all."

"So...your friend decided to take her shirt off and leave it under your bed?"

"Well, no, not exactly... See, she had a cami on and she got hot-"

"In a room-temperature house with a working heating system and air conditioning? _While_ your fan happens to be on?"

She began to nervously fiddle with her thumbs.

"Um... Well, she has this skin condition-"

"I'm studying the human body right now, Jazz. Skin doesn't regulate core temperature and sweat glands are activated by heat or tense emotions. Who's your friend?"

She bit her lip and looked up. It was all the answer Danny needed.

"Well," he chirped, "if she's not here anymore, you'll have no reason to fret if I take a little look around your room, right?"

He gave a pointed look of disgust to the evil brown T-shirt before flattening himself on the floor, right beside Jazz's bed. He blinked and his eyes went from blue to green. Their glow acted like headlights on a car, allowing him to see everything under the bed. As was expected, Jazz's neurotic ways hadn't changed a bit and the only things under the bed were the shirt, a few books she kept under there just in case she had the urge to read before sleeping, which she often did, and a puzzle box.

Aside from the shirt, there was nothing suspicious under the bed. He never even gave thought to the closet-not yet at least-until Jazz yelped, "Wait!"

The halfa stopped where he was an just as soon noticed a small sound coming from inside her closet.

He opened the door.

"JAZZ!" he screamed.

**A/N**

**BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE! I have created a page on facebook, "Crypticmoonfang". You'll find the link on my profile or you can just go to FB and look it up in the search bar. Follow me if you wanna know what's up. :)**

**XD YES! I'm sure I wasn't being all clever here and I bet most of you will know of the sibling love to come next chapter.**

**So I had writer's block, as every author does at one point or another, but then this whole slew of ideas just randomly popped into my head! :D And you know, Jazz doesn't even know Sam's pregnant! Or engaged! OMG I'M SO EXCITED! XP Just have to get this out there though, 'cause I know I had you waiting a little but hey, here it is, mateys! lol! I'm hyper right now in case you can't tell (hey, that rhymed almost!)!**

**Okay, quota will be I-don't-care-so-long-as-you-guys-BREAK THE FREAKING TIE. :l EVERY poll I put up has had a tie, I mean...come on! Is there something you're trying to tell me? 'Cause I'm totally missing it if there is.**

**Replies *says in horrible French accent*:**

**_ShadowDragon357_- Her hopes and dreams didn't exactly HAVE to change. Remember in FWB when Sam felt like there was just nothing left for her and the twins were ruining her life? In her late pregnancy, she finally started loving the twins (unlike Danny, it took a LONG time for Sam to start liking the twins, let alone love them) and understood that her life was changing, but for the better. And even after they were born it did say that it took her about two years to stop seeing the twins as a rapist's babies and start seeing them as Daddy's Lil' Stinkers (so many people have referred to him as "Daddy Danny" that I'm just using that from now on). I don't know who Farah Abram is. Maddie already told Danny and Sam that THEY were to parent the twins, not her and Jack. But I do see your point and I'm surprised anyone even noticed that. I just felt that this is how she would react (even in the show) in this situation.**

**_puppets4ever_- Ah, I'm too lazy to log in so I just use the "keep me signed in" button. :D Thanks!**

**_Mata Nui_- :D I have absolutely no idea what that means!**

**_Alisi Thorndyke_- ... :P Yeah... Um, 'bout that... I'm still trying to decide (thanks to the LOVELY tie from the poll I put up) whether or not they should know and/or when they should know AND, if they do know, how they would be told. XD For real, I want a guy like Danny!**

**_Mistheart150_- I have but I'm rewriting it and currently in the process of trying to squeeze in new chapters to help detail certain moments Sam went through.**

**_AJ_- I don't know you outside of fanfiction and I'm pretty wary about who I give any information out to on the internet. Let's just a lesson was learned.**

**_Favorite Daughter Of Hades_- Sorry, can't tell. But I will say that Danny's speed healing has nothing to do with embryonic development. o.o"**

**_sammansonrepilica_- XD Well then have fun 'guessing' what happens next, even though it's pretty obvious.**

**_ChristinCC_- Aw, thank you. ^.^ And aw, thank you. ^.^**

**_HeroAce_- It has come a long way, hasn't it? And um...Danny letting his kids fight ghosts? XD He'll be driving himself up the wall when Lilith tells him about her first crush! Those poor kids won't be doing anything with ghosts...or dating. ;3**

**_Looka'sMagicHell_- :3 Daddy Danny, baby. He rocks. And I have no right to be proud of updating crappy chapters. I mean, what's the point of writing it out in the first place if you only get out...well...THAT?**

**_TripleAAA1183_- Yaaaaayyyyyy, someone didn't see it coming! I actually made a surprise. XP About time I did that... And I would rather you not write out any plot bunnies as I technically own the content you would be writing. **

**_TheNinjaKitty13_- It's funny how you said that because I just explained it in this chapter. :D *GASP* Cookie again?! For mez?! THANKS! *devours cookie***

**PEOPLEZ EVERYWHERE! PLEASE, I BEG YOU, VOTE ON THE POLL AND END THE TIE TERROR! :'( For me? Please?**


	32. Chapter 32

~Chapter 32~

In front of Danny stood a man in his early twenties, who was cowering behind Jazz's clothes on the rack. Having a boy in the house normally would've angered him, but to a point where it was still tolerable. But this... This was just...

The fact that the man was hiding in her closet was the part that angered him to the normal level. But when he pulled the man out to have a better look, he grew from angry to furious. The man wasn't someone he knew, first off the list. He was shirtless, second off that same list. His hair was just as ruffled as Jazz's. And what had to be the part that completely sent him over the edge of his sanity...his zipper was undone.

That man may have been older, but he certainly wasn't a match for an eighteen-year-old that towered above him.

Danny pulled his arm back and threw him to the floor, jamming one foot onto his back to pin him down.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" the halfa screamed, pulling on his victim's arm to the point of real pain.

The man squeaked in fear and answered, "It's not what it looks like..."

"So you _didn't_ just take my sister?! HM? TELL ME THE TRUTH OR YOUR ARM COMES OFF YOUR TORSO!"

"Okay, okay! I did but-"

"No buts! Put your shirt on, zip your freaking pants, and GET THE HECK OUT OF MY HOUSE!"

"Danny!" Jazz protested, only to be ignored completely.

Danny grabbed the man's arm, tugged harder just to get the point across, and pulled him to his feet. The halfa jabbed him in the chest several times, giving him an intimidating, angry look before pointing firmly to the shirt. The man immediately took the hint and wasted no time in following orders.

As soon as that horrible, evil brown shirt was on, Danny grabbed his biceps and 'guided' him downstairs to the door. The man didn't even have time to zip his pants before he was violently shoved out the house. The halfbreed slammed the door and pivoted to see his sister just coming down the stairs, probably eager to see what had become of the guy in her closet.

"Jazz!" Danny yelled, his voice slightly hoarse from all the screaming he'd been doing earlier. "What were you _thinking?!_"

* * *

><p>Sam sighed as she sat in the kitchen with Tucker.<p>

"Jazz did something wrong?" the techno-geek asked.

"Jazz did something wrong," she drawled.

"Danny's mad?"

"Danny's mad."

"He'll try to straighten her out?"

"He'll try to straighten her out."

"Why is he getting like this?" Tucker sighed out.

The goth shrugged. "Welcome to my world. He won't even let me fight ghosts with him anymore. And now that I'm pregnant again, I won't be allowed in the lab, which means no ghost zone, which means nine months of boredom."

"Okay but why is he like this? He used to never be this way," Tucker repeated.

She shrugged again. "Ever since I got pregnant with the twins, he's been a little protective."

The geek perked a brow. "A _little_? Sam, he's going off on his own sister. Just listen!" He gestured over to the living room, where the siblings were having a heated argument over whatever it was.

* * *

><p>"Jazz, you brought a stranger into the house! <em>And<em> you let him-"

"Ah! Ah...kay, let's not go there, not with you. Mom and Dad already know him. Besides, what about you and Sam, hm? If you're willing to butt into my love life, let's butt into yours," Jazz shot back.

Danny frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, like I don't hear you at night? My bedroom is right next to yours! You don't think it's just a _little_ gross and a _little_ uncomfortable to hear sex noises coming from your brother's bedroom?" She cast him an accusing glance.

He blushed madly. "Sam and I are... We, um... I mean, we don't...exactly... Look, we're different!"

"Yeah? How?"

"Well for one, we've gone through everything together, and I mean this really big, long life story, okay? We've been together for years now and 'that' only started up like, last month or something. How long have you been seeing that idiot?"

She cleared her throat in offense. "That 'idiot' happens to be one of the top students in the college I go to."

"I don't care. I don't want him in the house _or your room_ anymore."

"You're not my dad!" she shouted immaturely, something incredibly unlike her.

"No, but I'm _a_ dad. Sam's _a_ mom. You're all about mental maturity and crap, so take a good look at us. Kids force you to grow up whether you want to or not...and I don't see a bun in the oven with you." His eyes narrowed. "And I better _not_ see a bun in the oven with you."

"I'm not pregnant, Danny. Besides, I'm twenty; I'm plenty fit to take care of a child. And believe it or not, I'm still more mature than you. I mean, are you even using _protection?_ What if you end up getting Sam pregnant?" she countered.

He took a sharp breath. That's right... Jazz didn't know about Sam's pregnancy yet... And of all the times she would be finding out, of all the ways she would be finding out...it was this one.

"Danny," Jazz continued, "your job isn't to chase away my boyfriends, it's to chase away Lilith's. Do I feel bad for her? Yes. But you have no right meddling in my personal life."

The halfa scoffed. "No right? Personal life? We're family! Whether you like it or not, I'm a part of your personal life! And I'm your brother, which means it _is_ my job to kick your boyfriend out of this house! That's what brothers do, they protect their sisters!"

"That's older brothers, not younger ones, first of all, and I can decide who I want to date and who I don't. I have higher standards than you think."

"Higher standards?! Then what were you doing-"

"If you wanna play this game, then what were _you_ doing not even using protection?"

He shifted uneasily, which was all the response Jazz needed.

"Yeah. That's what I thought," she said.

He took a breath and replied, "No, it's not that. It's kind of too late to use protection."

She tilted her head and perked a brow in question. "What do you mean?"

Sighing, he answered, "I mean we don't need to anymore. Sam's pregnant."

"Wait, what?!" Jazz gasped.

"You'll be an aunt again. Mom and Dad will be grandparents again. Sam's gonna be a mom again. I'll be a dad again. She's pregnant," he repeated.

"Danny, you moron! You knocked her up?!" she yelled.

"Yes and no," he retorted. "We're also engaged."

He watched as his sister's eyes widened.

"You? Are you serious, you really proposed?" she asked, this time much calmer and quieter.

He nodded. "And she said yes."

"Oh my gosh... So I'll have a sister-in-law?" She whistled. "I always thought I'd be the one getting married first."

Danny rolled his eyes and said, "You also don't have two kids...and another on the way."

* * *

><p>"Wow, sounds like Jazz is getting it good," Sam remarked.<p>

Tucker chuckled. "Gotta feel bad for her... Um, hey, Sam?"

She turned from the corridor to her friend. "Hm?"

He made a quick, unsure motion with his hands and said, "I know you've probably already thought about this but Danny's half ghost."

She raised an eyebrow. "What, did you get amnesia or something?"

"No, I mean, he has ghost DNA..."

"Yeah...?"

"And the baby has his DNA..."

Her eyes widened. "Wait a minute, you-? I mean, you're kidding right? He's half ghost because of the whole portal accident, not biologically."

"Ever since the portal accident, being a ghost literally _is_ part of him. He's biologically part ghost. And since the baby has his genes..."

"Please tell me you're kidding, with the genetics and stuff... I can't handle a ghost baby! What will I do if it decides to phase through the ceiling or something?!" she hissed.

"Well it's also a good thing you want the baby because you would be the only one willing to take care of it. And besides, Danny can train it when it gets older. That's a plus."

She twirled a small lock of her hair. A quarter-ghost baby... At least Danny had gotten his powers when he was fourteen but an invisible _baby_? She inwardly groaned. What the heck did Danny _do_ to her?!

**A/N**

**... :'( I know it's short! I know it was a long wait! I got so frantic I HAD to update! And I'm sorry for not finishing the chapter. :( Some stuff came up and it's just been really hard for me to get through. I know it's not an excuse but that's the truth of it all.**

**I really HAVE to say though...YOU'RE ALL EVIL! XD I mean, come on! Poor Danny! TWO GIRLS?! Are you TRYING to give him a heart attack? Those of you who haven't voted on the poll, it's still up on my profile. Make your opinion known because...two more daughters...double the boyfriends to shoo away...two more mini Sams...and more girl hormones. At this rate Danny's gonna REALLY have his work cut out for him! XD**

**And remember my facebook page. "Crypticmoonfang". Again, follow me if you wanna know what's up. It'll be used for fanfiction purposes only, such as questions ABOUT the polls (such as if you want another choice added), or if I need to put a story on hiatus for awhile. Naturally I will explain why.**

**And a last announcement: Any of you who like Gravity Falls, I've worked incredibly hard on a Gravity Falls AMV. Go to youtube and look up "gravity falls kryptonite". That video was the hardest video I've ever made in my LIFE. o.o Please check out the video. For my sanity, please do.**

**Obviously there will not be a quota. But there will be replies, as always:**

**_SpeedyTomato7_- Nope, just some random guy I threw in there. NO he's NOT the rapist, before any ideas are made. He's just...I dunno, a guy Danny really hates for now. Maybe he'll grow to be an actual character later but for now, he's just the guy Danny's ready to kill.**

**_puppets4ever_- ^.^ I was hoping for that little surprise effect!**

**_AJ_- Pfft, being weird is AWESOME! Why would anyone want to be normallll...? *drawl* I just don't feel comfortable giving away information about myself to people I don't quite know.**

**_ShadowDragon357_- Oh, that's just wrong! :( WHY did people assume Jazz is lesbian?! Where did I hint at that? They do. :) But I wanted to make a cute scene with the twins.**

**_sammansonrepilica_- No. She's not a lesbian. -_-" I don't know why people thought that. I don't know where I went wrong with it but no, she's not a lesbian.**

**_HeroAce_- XD Yeah, fat chance of that. Danny's super mega ultra protective of his family. Lilith's dating option aren't even slim to none, they're just...none. Lol! Yeah, can't think of a boy name... :/ I already got Danny Junior and I'm a girl, so boy names... Not that good at them. Push comes to shove and I wait too late to be picky, I'll simply choose one of my old friends' names. Like Devon or something. Well his DNA is infused with ectoplasm, and since the kid is Danny's...they'll be having powers. Superpowered baby! XD**

**_Alisi Thorndyke_- lol I actually realized that in the Gravity Falls episode "Little Dipper", Mabel calls herself the alpha twin, and I basically said Lilith was the alpha twin without even remembering that was Mabel's gig. Danny does his job a little TOO well... XD**

**_glraxaystarfire katniss_- Thank you so much for reviewing but...um... I'm sorry, I couldn't understand one thing you said. :( **

**_blackoutphantom_- :3 Well...I stopped it there to leave a cliffhanger. :( And then I made you wait so long for this crappy little update... Aw. :P My writing is nowhere near the best. It could be improved in so many ways! :) But that compliment just made my day! ^.^**

**_Looka'sMagicHell_- XD All I require is sweet tea. Just half a cup of sweet tea will send me into hyperdrive and it brings out a MONSTER! Grawr! I had fun writing Tucker's reaction, as well as Sam and Danny's fluffy moments. :D **

**_Favorite Daughter Of Hades_- -_- Danny's nickname hasn't changed. He's still Clueless 1. Poor guy. lol He didn't need to run. Danny threw him out. XD**

**_TripleAAA1183_- :( If you have zero confidence and think your writing sucks, I mean, just look at mine! :P Not good at all... But I guess I've improved. You should've seen my very first story. It was so terrible I took it down. XD It was just THAT bad. And yup, thoughts are fine. :P What am I gonna do, call the dream police?**

**_Guest_- ...Oh Lord. You must want to KILL them. o.o**

**You know, I'm really DYING to know... What pushed everyone to think Jazz was a lesbian? **


	33. Chapter 33

~Chapter 33~

Sam sighed heavily as she sat with Tucker in the kitchen. The 'conversation' Danny was having with his sister couldn't be understood, exactly, but it was clear that the halfa. Was. _Ticked_.

"Any objection to me rescuing Jazz?" she drawled.

Tucker shrugged nonchalantly and replied, "Weigh it out. Which is worse, Jazz's stupid psych talks or Danny's rage?"

Sighing, she answered, "They're both about the same. But if there's one good thing about being pregnant, it's using my hormones to manipulate Danny."

Laughter broke out between the two. At least she was calm for now. And rational.

Tucker wiped a fake tear from under his eye and said, "If they're about the same, I think you should save Jazz. Danny's probably still a little shaken since he just found out you were pregnant. I know for a fact he was also extremely nervous when he proposed. And then Jazz did something to make him completely furious. I'd vote to save Jazz from his wrath, at least until he calms down."

Sam nodded in agreement. "Daddy Danny can be pretty intense. My vote's with her."

She stood up and turned around to walk out of the kitchen. If there was one thing she knew, it was that today was already a soap opera and Danny was probably stressed out. So stressed plus angry equals, apparently, one crazy furious Danny.

She walked into the living room and sure enough, there he was, fuming with his face all red and a vein ready to pop.

"Danny," Sam called out.

His eyes turned to her. "I told you to stay in the kitchen."

She crossed her arms and stared straight at him. "Your point?"

"My point is-"

She cut him off with, "Go."

His angry frown became a confused one. "Huh?"

"Go."

"Wait, I-"

"Go."

"But I jus-"

"GO. DANNY."

"I can do what I want, S-"

"I said GO NOW. Go to your room! Go! Right now, Fenton, you march your butt upstairs _right now!_"

His eyes narrowed and she expected some sort of comeback. Instead she got an incomprehensible grumble followed by him walking toward the stairs. He glared at her the entire way up and to prove his frustration, the door was slammed shut.

She took Danny's place and heard Jazz sigh in relief behind her.

"Oh, I can't thank you enough, Sam," she said. "But what about Danny? He'll still be ticked off when he comes back down."

The goth merely raised a hand in dismissal. "Don't worry about him. In the years I've been together with Danny, I've found the one thing that will distract any guy." She winked.

* * *

><p>Danny continued grumbling to himself in his room. They weren't even married yet but Sam just... Well, technically, she did this just about every time he messed up. It was always something you would tell a child. She even grounded him one time! He wasn't allowed to build Leggos with the twins for one entire month, so he had to settle for eight-piece puzzles. That was just lovely. And he couldn't even count the number of times Sam sent him to his room. It was unfair, that much he knew. Jazz deserved to have her boyfriend kicked out. Then he gave her a taste of her own medicine with the lectures, and then <em>he<em> was the one who got punished?! He was just trying to be a good brother and this was the thanks he got?! And then that would be classified as 'fair', right? Because that was obviously so 'fair'.

And he wasn't harsh on Jazz's boyfriend! Compared to all the things he could've done, that was just politely asking him to leave. And technically, he _did_ politely ask him to leave, just in a forceful way. And what would Mom and Dad think if they saw what he did, huh? If they knew what he knew? Hurmmmmm? He was positive they would have just as much to say about it as he did. Maybe even more, so he was fine!

Besides, he handled the situation delicately, which should prove to be enough. He could've ripped the guy's arm off to make sure he didn't come back, but he didn't. He could've punched him in the face, but he didn't. He could've killed him on the spot, but he didn't. And there were a lot of ways to die, too, so Jazz should've _thanked_ him if anything!

And Sam! She was pregnant! Her hormones were nuts and he'd figured that out the hard way when he tried to argue with her while she was pregnant with the twins. She was so freaking defiant back then! It was like she just didn't hear him! Why wouldn't she just listen to him?! It wasn't like he would ever do anything to hurt her! In fact, he-

There was a knock on the door and he grunted, crossing his arms. The door was unlocked, whoever it was could just come on in.

The door opened and naturally it would be Sam. "Danny?"

He grunted again.

"Stop acting like a child," she said, moving closer to him. "Look at me."

He sluggishly turned his head. "Yes, dear?"

She rolled her eyes. "I have something for you. You'll love it."

"What is it? Am I getting a spanking next?" he grumbled.

"Grouch," she muttered under her breath. "Well I'm not spanking you but I can use my boot as a substitute."

He huffed.

"I came to cheer you up," she clarified. "Now will Baby Blue let me do that?"

"That nickname is gonna stick with me forever, isn't it?" he mumbled.

She smiled and said, "Absolutely."

The goth reached over to place a lingering kiss on his cheek, knowing he would take some hints. And just as she suspected, he turned his head to a point where the kiss moved from his cheek to his lips. Pfft. Boys. Kisses got them every time. But there was only one thing that would fully get their attention...

She pulled out a bag of chips from behind her back and he opened his eyes to see what the rustling sound was.

Food.

He immediately jerked his head away and grabbed the bag of chips, ripping it open and munching on the first chip his hand grabbed.

"Lime and vinegar; the most disgusting of all chip flavors and your favorite," Sam remarked.

He crammed several more chips into his mouth and replied, "M'yeah, well...when you get that gross tofu stuff instead of ice cream, you don't hear me complaining about how disgusting it is."

"Danny, tofu is a healthy alternative and it tastes way better than you think. How can you judge it when you've never even tried it?"

He swallowed and shoved only about a hundred more chips in his mouth. "Unless you count that one time you forced me to try it. It was gross, Sam. It was really gross. That's why in my notebook I drew Lilith pushing that weird tofu block away."

"Yes, thanks for that," she drawled sarcastically. "But I'm going to try to make our kids lead a healthy, vegan lifestyle. And I mean _all_ of them." She put a hand over her stomach.

He swallowed again and yelled, "No! You can't make me go on diets!"

"Oh yes I can."

"They will eat meat. Not...not like Tucker does, but they'll eat meat. It's a big part of being human. Because humans are _omnivores_, not _herbivores_. They need to learn how to be a _human_, not a _rabbit_."

"Careful. I'll sit on you," she replied with a smirk.

He returned the action. "I can handle that. Now if you actually had some weight on you-"

"Like I will when I ready to pop?" she retaliated.

He frowned and his eyes widened. She had a point. When she was pregnant with the twins she gained about eighty pounds.

"Hey, do you have weird cravings?"

"You caught me eating raw pickles straight from the jar the other day, what do _you_ think?"

Another good point. And before the pickles, he'd caught her eating celery and mushroom soup, a concoction she'd made herself and claimed it tasted flat out amazing. Well he tried it and it tasted anything _but_.

He smirked again and leaned over, quickly placing a kiss on her lips. She pulled away immediately and furiously wiped her mouth off.

"DANNY!" she shrieked. "THAT'S DISGUSTING! MY MOUTH WAS OPEN!"

Heh heh... Yeah, he knew it was. And now she got a bit of payback for unfairly making him go to his room. She got the taste of vinegar and lime. He laughed as she stormed out of the room to brush her teeth. REVENGE. It was always best served with a kiss. Score one for the ghost boy. Heh heh...

**A/N**

**OMG I KNOW IT'S SHORT AND I'M SO SORRY! But I tried to make it funny...if that counts for anything... :'(**

**The problem right now is that my ideas have gotten too far ahead of the story right now! I'm already DYING to get to the teenage chapters!**

**I don't deserve your kindness or forgiveness (though either one would be greatly appreciated)! *drops to knees* No review quota! :'( I am undeserving...**

**But review replies, definitely:**

**_HeroAce_- :D SUPAH BABY! Yes! lol Wonder how Sam will deal with THAT? But don't worry, I have a plan in mind. One that Danny will hate SO BAD but will be forced to agreeing on anyway. ;D How is that possible, right? He's half ghost, he'll kick anyone's butts. WE SHALL SEE. To answer your other questions, nobody will know Sam is pregnant (not yet at least), and yes, Danny is close to graduation. ^.^ Looking forward to that scene!**

**_AJ_- No one should like normal. Weird is GOOD. ;D XD Yes, they wanted two girls! Poor Danny, he'll be completely outnumbered by females and Sam will have backup in later chapters if this keeps up! I think that's what they WANT, is to see him suffer from girl hormones. XD**

**_sammansonrepilica_- XD YOU TOO?! You guys are trying to kill Danny, I swear! lol It just cracks me up! But we all know he'll love having a girl or boy, or both even. He's turned into a family man. ^.^**

**_ShadowDragon357_- :/ You know, I don't know if it's an insult or a compliment... I literally had no idea what he/she was saying... You try to read the review and tell me if you can translate... :( I ain't gotz no cluez...**

**_princessbinas_- ... T.T I have NO clue what all the Punnet thing is... But gotcha, half or human. I'll correct that. :) Thanks for pointing that out, though, I must've looked like an idiot there! lol!**

**_Harmony's Entropy_- Touche, but she never had a crush on a girl either. The guy was just some random guy. I just felt like making Danny mad. Supposed to be an awesome day, he's getting another baby, he just proposed to Sam and she said yes... lol But now this happens. I had to ruin it, I really did. XD**

**_BooksAreMyVideogames_- XD Oh, you're all just trying to torture this poor guy...**

**_FDoH_- Heh heh...and imagine, if he comes back to the house or anywhere NEAR Jazz, he's gonna have a LOT of explaining to do.**

**_I'm. Only. Human. Dude_- XD They could, couldn't they?**

**_TripleAAA1183_- Aw, that's so sweet. :) But no, my writing just isn't good. I could improve so much. **

**_LittleBoomBoom_- Yup, Danny was Phantom at the time. He didn't have time to change back, too much was happening and it didn't cross his mind. lol But keep in mind, his DNA (as proven by the GIW in earlier chapters) contains both human and ghost genes, so even if he was Fenton at the time, the baby could still have traits of Phantom. And even if he was Phantom, the baby could still look exactly like Fenton (both with traits from Sam of course).**

**Thank you to all who have put up with me! :') You guys are so awesome!**


	34. Chapter 34

~Chapter 34~

The halfa sighed heavily after he was sure Sam was asleep. He was happy the she was pregnant and after having finally come to his senses, was excited to have another child in his life. It didn't matter to him whether or not the baby shared the same blood, as was proven with the twins, so long as he or she was healthy. He was happy the Sam had said yes when he proposed, something that wracked his insides when she was still reading the poem. He would have to get used to calling her fiancee and after they were married, his wife. He was happy that he screamed at Paulina and spoke what he'd been wanting to say for a long time. Hopefully there would be no more incidents with her and Sam would stay sane.

But there was something missing.

Normally when a daughter was engaged to be married, there was only one person who would be walking her down the aisle on her wedding day. Well Sam didn't have her dad to walk her down the aisle and give her away. And he never got to ask her father if he could take her hand in marriage, like he was supposed to. Her dad never got to meet his grandchildren, including the one on the way. In fact, Sam had never had any contact with either of her parents since the day they kicked her out back when she was just fifteen _and_ pregnant. He once asked her about that, probably about two years ago, and to this day he remembered the answer she gave him. "I'm over them." No. She said that, sure, but people could say a lot of things. It didn't make it true. He knew for a fact that she wasn't over them. She cared about them and he knew she still missed them. The problem was, she was torn between wanting to see them and wanting to stay away from them. She wanted to see them, but was it the best idea?

It was a decision he knew she couldn't make on her own. But ever since he'd let her live with him and been the one to take care of her, he'd played a significant role in her life. He'd been the father of, what was back then 'her', children since before they were born. And she had let him. He couldn't recall a single time when she said that he couldn't be the father, that he couldn't be a part of the twins' lives.

And as of today, he was her fiancee. He would be her husband soon enough. Now he played and even _more_ important role. Husbands were supposed to protect their wives. Fathers were supposed to protect their children. As both, he was supposed to protect the entire family. Well this meant two kinds of protection: physical...and emotional. Right now Sam was still confused on a very touchy subject that only he could get away with discussing about to her. He wanted that confusion gone, whisked away into thin air.

He sighed again and scratched his head, casting one more look at Sam to make sure she was still asleep. His parents had been in the lab all day working on a very delicate machine or doohickey...or whatever...and they didn't know about the engagement yet. So tomorrow they would have to suffer the excitement of his parents. Yippee, couldn't wait for that.

He picked up a pen and, giving up on trying to solve that stupid Pre-Cal problem, dug out a photo album from a drawer dedicated entirely to family photos, the twins' first coloring pages, and yes, even a picture printed a long time ago...Sam's ultrasound when she was pregnant with the twins. The drawer was basically a bunch of cluttered family things.

He rummaged around in it until he found a more recent picture of himself, Sam, Lilith, and Junior. He and Sam were squatting down with the twins right in front of them. No, they weren't hugging their parents and no, they weren't even looking at the camera, but they were smiling. He didn't exactly know what Lilith was looking at but she was actually bending forward to look past her brother. Junior's eyes were so close to looking at the camera but he was looking a little towards the left, in the opposite direction Lilith was looking in.

He flipped it over and uncapped the pen with his teeth.

Sam moved in the bed and he tore his eyes away from the picture to look at her. Sam was going to kill him, dance on his grave, then revive him just so she could kill him again. Exaggeration, yes; non-exaggeration, he would get an earful. But it would be worth it in the end, as long as her parents got this and at least considered it.

Deciding that she really was out cold, he began writing on the back.

_Mr. and Mrs. Manson, I will not lie nor will I sugarcoat anything I say. I'm positive you've noticed the two children on the picture. They're both your grandchildren. They're twins, but they strive to prove people wrong about twins being the same. The girl is Lilith and the boy was named after me, Daniel Junior. Yes, we did decide to shorten his name to Danny, but we just call him Junior to avoid that kind of confusion. _

_You've missed out on some of the most beautiful moments in life. You kicked out your daughter. You hurt her. She could've given you two amazing bundles of joy and mischief. You would've loved it. But you never spoke to her since you kicked her out. You contributed to a depression she had at the time and you have no idea how much it's put her through. Even now, even after three years, Sam still misses you. She still loves you and honestly I don't know why. I thought being a parent would help me understand why you did what you did, but it helped me understand something deeper. How could any parent do such a thing to their child? I would sooner kill myself than do that!  
><em>

_There are some things I feel you should know. I'm sure Sam won't be too happy to know I wrote this. I'm sure she won't be too happy that I'm saying this, but she can yell at me all she wants and unlike you, I won't care. I have her best interest at heart. That's all I've ever had. I love your daughter. Unlike most teenage fathers, I love these twins. But it's the twins I need to talk to you about. No, scratch that. Even if I don't talk to you about it, you still need to know something about them. _

_I need you to promise me two things before I can bring myself to say anything further. Promise me you won't see the twins any differently unless it's for the better. And promise me you won't see Sam any differently unless it's for the better. Think of me however you want, but don't expect me to care about your opinion of me anymore. _

_As for discussing the twins, we'll need to meet up somewhere. This kind of news isn't meant to be told any other way. We can work something out if this doesn't work for you, but shall we say the park, Thursday at around noon? I'll be bringing Sam no matter where we go. Contact me any way you feel necessary and we can set everything up. _

_-Daniel Fenton_

He refused to write 'Sincerely' above his name being as it was _his_ turn to hate _them_. And although the message really was sincere, it wasn't meant to be nice and polite. It was meant for the brutal honesty that they deserved. If it sounded polite, then great. If it sounded impolite, then too bad.

He sighed once more, this time in relief, and went to put the picture in an envelope, write out who it was to and stamp it, and take it to the mailbox with the hopes that her parents would read it and accept his offer. Sam would have his head if she knew about this so he would have to be discreet and not let her know until it was too late to turn back. Would she like it? Probably not. But just like he said in the note to her parents, he had her best interest at heart and she needed to see her parents again, at least one last time; for closure if nothing else.

He slowly and carefully got into bed, completely blowing off that accursed Pre-Cal problem, and wrapped his arms around her. Hopefully she wouldn't have another nightmare and wake up in a panic. He had a few extremely vague memories of clinging to Sam when he was intoxicated with the moon flower pollen. He did call her his dove, and he couldn't sleep unless she was right there in his arms. But almost everything aside from that was either blank or one big blur that he couldn't quite make out. Well apparently she had really liked it when he did that because he finally realized, a few weeks after he was sane again, that the reason he kept waking up with his arms around her was because she had been the one pulling them around her at night once he was asleep. And she had to confuse him like that because...?

Oh! Right!

He climbed over Sam and kissed her stomach, the only way he could kiss the new baby goodnight until it was born. Sadly, she woke up from it and got the wrong idea of his true intentions.

"Not tonight, Danny," she sighed out.

He smiled and quietly laughed. "I wasn't trying anything like that. Besides, I'm just as tired as you are."

"Then go to sleep," she muttered. "And don't kiss me again unless it's my forehead or cheek."

Why did he get the feeling he had just been cut off?

"I wasn't kissing you, I was kissing the baby," he clarified.

She just snorted. "Yeah, of course you were."

He frowned and dropped back over to his side of the bed, re-wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close to him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you were asking for some and didn't get any," she replied.

"That's the furthest thing from the truth. I kiss you and the twins goodnight every night...even if you and I _do_ end up staying awake a little longer. We both want the baby. It's already a part of our family. I was just kissing it goodnight. We both know I won't have that opportunity forever; I'm taking every chance I get," he said.

True. Eventually the twins would reach an age where it just wasn't cool to kiss their parents goodnight, and they would stop. Well Danny loved it when they kissed him. Right now the kisses were on the lips because that's what Mommy and Daddy did, but later it would move to the cheek. And one day that would stop entirely. He really wouldn't have that opportunity forever and it was all too easy to believe he cherished all their little kisses.

He pulled her even closer and whispered, "Go to sleep, dove. You need to get some rest."

* * *

><p>"No, you don't get it, this is it, Tuck, I'm drawing the line here," Danny growled. "I'm tired of seeing Sam suffer like this! You know she mumbled something about her parents in her sleep last night?"<p>

"Okay, first off, calm down. Getting angry won't get you anywhere," the geek said. "Secondly, I don't know if it's such a good idea to force Sam to meet up with her parents. I mean, what if she doesn't want to see them?"

"What if-?! Tucker, she misses them. She still loves her parents. I don't know why, I don't know how, but she does. Besides, it's time they met their grandkids after three years of having absolutely no involvement in Lilith and Junior's lives," he shot back. "Now they're gonna have another grandkid and this time, it really is mine."

"Why would it matter to them if there's another one of 'that Fenton kid's offspring'?" Tucker countered. "They already think the twins are yours, what difference would another baby make?"

"This time, I'm convincing Sam to tell them what happened and who their real father is." Danny sighed. "And you know, it would be awesome if they were mine biologically but, you know, it didn't happen like that. I actually talked to Sam about it once and she said she'd go through it again even if she had the chance to change the past."

"Wait, so you plan on telling Sam to meet her parents, who she hasn't seen in three years, and tell them that you aren't the actual dad-"

"Anyone can be a father. It takes a real man to be a dad," the halfa interrupted.

"Okay, fine, the actual father. You plan on making Sam do that?"

"No, not make her. I won't force her into anything, but I will do everything I can to get her to tell them. This has gone on long enough, Tuck."

"You have any idea what her answer will be?"

"She'll personally wipe the floor with me," he said. "But you know what? I could care less. It's something she should at least think about and if her parents say yes to a little family reunion, then I'll be bringing her along."

"Does she know about all this?"

"No, not a single clue. She doesn't even know I contacted her parents."

"She'll kill you, man."

"I'll sleep with one eye open," Danny grunted. "But this is for her own good."

"This really doesn't sound like a good idea, Danny. And I'm dead serious! What if it only ends up hurting her _worse_? Did you even think about that?"

"I heard her mumble 'Mom' and 'Dad' several times in her sleep, even after the twins were born. She still does it. Granted, I can't guarantee this will turn out well and it probably won't go smoothly, but I'm so tired of knowing those freaking _idiots_ are always on her mind. Yes, they're her parents, and yes, she loves them...but she also really misses them. I feel like she needs this, no matter what the outcome will be."

"And if her parents refuse your offer?"

"If that happens, then we're just gonna go about life as we always do."

The two walked through the school halls in silence for a while, both knowing what Tucker would say next.

"Ever since the twins were born your life's been pretty domestic," he mumbled.

Danny shook his head in dismissal. "My life used to always be about ghosts, that was my greater goal, that was my purpose in life, that was the very reason I existed. But you know, ever since I found out Sam was pregnant, there was something deep inside me that...just... I-I can't really explain it. I didn't really know what it meant at the time but as Sam got further and further into her pregnancy, when all that time just went by so slowly... I mean, I was confused because that little something was growing and I still didn't know what it meant. And then one day it's like I just woke up and suddenly wanted to be in the twins' lives forever. And it was so weird because I was seriously worried that Sam might give them up after they were born and since they weren't mine, there was nothing I could do about it. That whole time I kept wondering why I would want to be in their lives when I knew Sam didn't want them. It was like I knew I would end up getting hurt by feeling that way, but I wanted to have those feelings nevertheless. And then I came to this slow realization that I valued those twins more than I valued life itself. It struck me that I didn't just want to be in their lives, I wanted to be their dad. At that point it was an inner war; do I really want to be a dad at fifteen or do I want to keep my freedom and responsibility only to Amity Park? The choice I made is pretty obvious. Now my life doesn't revolve around ghosts. I know now what I'm _really_ meant to be. The twins-and as of yesterday, the new baby-are my greater goal. The twins-and the new baby-are my purpose in life. It's like they're the real ones who define my existence, not me. I'm not just Danny Phantom anymore."

"Do you ever wish you still had the freedom you used to?"

...Honestly, he did. From time to time he thought about the freedom he'd lost when the twins were born. Er, technically, when Sam was late in her pregnancy. He was like a fly around her head at that time, always wanting to be near her _just in case_. But what Tucker said was true; he _had_ lost a lot of free time. But whenever those thoughts entered his mind, he always reminded himself of the twins and how they needed him, and how he needed them. He reminded himself to weigh it out...and there was absolutely no competition. His kids won every single time. Those little 'lack of freedom' thoughts disappeared to be replaced by the same warm feeling he had when he first started _truly_ loving the twins, despite them being still in their mother's womb.

He just hoped Sam's parents would have that warm feeling if and when they met up...

**A/N**

**Before I say ANYTHING, I seriously can't believe the sequel is longer! XD I mean, Flowers Will Bloom had 33 chapters. This chapter marks the 'longer' status.**

**WOOHOO! Major cliffhanger, right there. XD Hahaha! We all know what Sam's parents did, so let us all see what they SHALL do. And heck, don't jump to the conclusion that they'll suddenly say "Oh, yeah, sure." and meet up. They kicked out their daughter, so we don't know what they'll do now. But it's been three years, so who knows? (me)**

**I made sure to compensate with an ACTUAL chapter rather than that crappy one I left you guys with last time, AND this is being updated earlier WITH 3,000 words. ;)**

**There will be a review quota to ease my weird mind, but I'm definitely not pushing it. Four hundred eighty-five (485).**

**Now, your review replies:**

**_ShadowDragon357_- lol We both know Sam would never push the kids to eat tofu BUT I can see her pushing them to eat healthy foods, like vegetables and fruits. I can't say nuts because I don't know if I'll make anyone allergic to nuts yet. And she breastfed the twins, so she'll be doing the same with the new baby Fenton. ^.^**

**_HeroAce_- XD I was just WAITING for someone to say something like that! Super mommmm~ LOL! Yes, the biggest child of all! :D**

**_puppets4ever_- No, you're not mean. Angry Danny equals funny Danny! :D**

**_smallvillephantom14_- :D I tried to make that funny. Hope I did a good job.**

**_sammansonrepilica_- He has and I just now realized that I actually DID do something right with this story. I paced his character development. Everyone's character development, actually, which is something I don't think I've ever done before. And yup, lime and vinegar! In the episode Micro Management, he throws his chips on Skulker, who says, "Lime and vinegar? Who eats those?!"**

**_princessbinas_- Next time I talk about the genetics of the baby, I'll make sure to correct it. :) How do you know poor Sam didn't puke in the bathroom?**

**_AJ_- AHH NUUUU! NOT A SQUARE PLANET! We make it round because we randomly stomp on the Earth. XD**

**_ChristinCC_- Thanks! I tried! :D I don't do humor all that well (do I...?) so that was pretty good, I like to think.**

**_Alisi Thordyke_- XD Couldn't help but laugh as I was writing that out. That, and him kissing her JUST to put lime and vinegar chip crumbs on her lips.**

**_Samtastic V2.0_- The rapist won't make an appearance in the sequel, I put the epilogue in at the end of FWB as a bonus chapter to FWG. **

**Hey, guys, don't forget to vote on the poll! :) Go ahead and vote so you don't have to worry about FORGETTING to vote. For all you know, your vote could be a tiebreaker! So vote now or forever hold your peace.**


	35. Chapter 35

~Chapter 35~

The rest of the day at school wasn't so bad. Due to a ghost-free night and eventless patrol on the same night, he actually managed to get in time for both his family and his homework. Mr. Lancer, gotta love that he refused to cut any slack...

No one at school, save for Tucker, knew about Sam's new pregnancy and thanks to how soon it was until the school year was over, they would never know. Well, that is, not unless someone went to the same college. In that case, they'd probably know. But the halfa actually planned to take a year off and now he had two reasons to do so. For one, he didn't want to delve straight into college if he wasn't ready for it, plus it would be better from a financial aspect if he could start raising money before going to college. Two was that he couldn't miss the baby's birth and considering that Jazz's high school teacher wouldn't budge on the idea of letting her go even on such a special occasion, he wasn't anywhere near willing to take the same chance facing a college professor. No, absolutely not. Besides, he would still see his family every day; he would be living with his parents and attend a nearby college. No way was he trading in his family for something lesser, like a school.

It was actually his future job that worried him. How many other employees for _any_ job had to sneak off with the excuse to use the bathroom only to come back exhausted and beaten twenty minutes later? It would look more like he he had an all out brawl with a feral gorilla. Or perhaps an all out brawl with a magical battle suit that came to life through the wand of a fairy godmother. Yes, that made perfect sense now didn't it?

He would have no way out of that unless his boss discovered his secret and took pity on him.

He sighed. Had to be about the thousandth time that day he'd sighed.

But today was Wednesday and Sam's parents still hadn't called him, texted, him, emailed him, nothing... He'd sent the letter/picture Monday. Tomorrow was Thursday. So if the answer was yes, then tomorrow during his lunch break would be when Sam finally met back up with her parents after three long years.

He stretched and went to his room to check his phone. Tucker usually left him a voicemail or text whenever there was a ghost around. But now Tucker always carried around a Fenton wrist ray and a Fenton thermos. Something told him the geek would be fine, especially since he'd become more skilled in the art of ghost-fighting. Three years could change a person, physically and mentally. Tucker now had the maturity of an uncle without kids or a wife. Basically, he'd barely changed over the years. But he did change in the sense that he was being forced to take on more ghosts when Danny Phantom began lacking the presence he used to have. The city had been startled about that for some time now. Where did Phantom go? Did something happen to him? Was he captured by another ghost?

How about...did he have kids, a future wife, school, ghosts, and everyday teenage drama?

So yes, Tucker was the one who took on more of that sort of responsibility. It gave Danny time to study and sleep. Patrolling was Tucker's break; that job was reserved for Danny no matter what. This was actually at Danny's insistence, having felt the need to reward Tucker with rest since he couldn't always be there during battles.

So now Tucker would leave messages and if Danny came, he came, if he didn't, he didn't.

There were no messages from Tucker and, unfortunately, no messages from the Mansons. Of course they wouldn't have contacted him. They'd kicked their own daughter out of the house when she was fifteen, pregnant, and unable to defend herself. They'd turned their backs to her and apparently, their grandchildren. God forbid something as horrible as Sam's pregnancy, leaving aside the events that got her pregnant to begin with, would tarnish their perfect social reputation. Well what if the entire world suddenly knew about all this? What would happen to their precious reputation then?

Another thought immediately entered his head. Publicity. The Mansons weren't afraid to go pubic with anything that might bring them more attention to their absolute 'perfections'. Well now they would find out what really happened that night they kicked her out, who the real father was, and why he'd been covering it up this whole time.

And if push came to shove, he would reveal a little secret of his own and show them who was utterly disgusted by their past actions and, if they refused to see their daughter, their recent actions. Maybe that would change their mind. Maybe they would see who had been taking care of Sam and the twins all this time. And the best part about Danny Phantom was that they had no proof of his human identity. They wouldn't even have proof that he was half human unless the Guys In White confirmed it. But he highly doubted that, especially given the little information they had to go on, the government would be willing to let that kind of thing slip. Hopefully, though, push wouldn't come to shove and it would run as smoothly as a Manson reunion could get.

Well, that is _if_ th-

His phone rang abruptly, causing him to jump and jolting him from his thoughts. He took a mental note: during times like this, stop thinking so deeply.

He sighed in annoyance and checked the number. Unknown.

He never actually bothered to so much as ask Sam about her parents' cells numbers. He always called her on either her home phone or her cell phone. There was a chance... But he really shouldn't get his hopes _too_ high. These were the Mansons and...well...bad things were known to happen with them. This was more likely to be an advertisement if anything.

He answered it nonetheless just in case it really was her parents.

He phased into the backyard before saying, "Hello?"

There was a sound on the other end, like someone taking a deep breath. Upon hearing that, he did the same. Whoever it was clearly had their nerves wracking, probably just as much as he did.

"I... We..." Another deep breath. "We're looking to talk to Daniel Fenton."

Her parents?! It was them! Oh geez, and on such short notice but...! It was for Sam. It was all for Sam. "This is he."

"Your voice sure has changed," a male voice pointed out. Jeremy.

"So to what do I owe this special call?" He tried to keep the seething anger from his voice but he was sure there was some strain on it.

A breath was sharply inhaled. "We got the picture."

"Did you read the back?" He was so tempted to add, 'Or did you toss it out?' but kept reminding himself that if he ticked off her parents now, there was every chance they would turn him down.

"Every word. You said the park, right? Tomorrow at noon?"

The halfa nodded but remembered that this was over the phone and they couldn't see him. "Around noon. I can't guarantee it'll be an exact time. We can try to get the twins to take a nap but sometimes they don't. If that happens my parents will watch them."

"Yes, the twins... You said you wanted to tell us something about them?"

He took a breath to calm himself. It wasn't necessarily what they said, since they were taking any kind of interest, but just talking to them, just hearing their awful voices... Tomorrow would be hard if they reached an agreement on it.

"Yeah," he replied. "But definitely not over the phone. Keep in mind that no matter what, this is strictly about the twins. This won't be about you or me, but the twins. Sam actually plays a big part in it but that's why I wanted you to promise not to see her any differently...unless it's for the better."

"We read the note, Daniel; we're very aware of that promise and if the 'news' is as big as you claim, then we'll try to keep that promise. For better or worse depends on what this discussion is about."

"I won't be bringing the twins if you agree to meet Sam and me at the park. Like I said, nap time. Very important. And if you want to meet-" He felt like saying, '-your own grandchildren that you've never bothered with before-' but kept it in his head. "-them, then you'll have to come over to our house. When I say 'our', I mean Sam's house too. She's been living here ever since-" '-three years ago when you threw her away-' "-she was fifteen."

"She must not have been very comfortable..." her father muttered under his breath.

Danny felt his face boil and swore that if another spout like that came out of that man's mouth, his sweat would turn into lava.

He cleared his throat. "Anyway, she's been living here, so have the twins. Again, if you want to meet them, you know where to find them. Oh, and one more thing...Sam's turned out to be an amazing mother."

"Now, about the park..." Jeremy started.

"Like I said, tomorrow at around noon. Will that work?"

"It will, but if the news is so big, why talk about it in a public area?" the man asked.

"Because no one there pays attention to anyone sitting at a picnic table and because any thick silences will be drowned out by the park noises."

There was an understanding grunt on the other end and Danny took a breath. At least he knew for sure that they would be meeting up tomorrow at the time perfectly fitting for his schedule. Lunch break, twins' nap time, and Sam's break. Except this time, Danny would be skipping lunch and forcing Sam to eat an early one. Hopefully the conversation wouldn't take too long but just in case it did, he'd already told Tucker to tell Mr. Lancer that something had come up and he had to tend to it. Lancer had been holding up his end about letting 'fatherly behavior' slide. Well this was just... It was that and more... Surely his teacher would let that slide. He'd told Tucker that if Lancer demanded to know what was wrong, to tell him in private about the meeting with Sam's parents, but to give away as little information as possible, just enough to get by.

"We already know how children act so we can be patient. Take as long as you need to meet with us at the park. And even though you said it in your note, bring Samantha. If she played such a big part in this, we'd like to talk to her as well."

"Okay. I have to go now, but I'm glad you agreed to meet up."

He ended the call before he had to hear one more word from that man. Three years... Three years and this was all they could say... It couldn't be considered rude at this point, it went far beyond. There were no apologies in any of it. They didn't even ask if Sam was okay. That should've been the first thing to come out of their mouth. And what about the twins? They certainly didn't seem too eager to talk much about them, so why in the world would they even agree to discuss them?

He didn't know whether to be grateful that he'd finally managed to set this up or furious at her parents' attitude towards everything he just said. He didn't know whether he wanted to shake their hands or strangle them. They were lucky he wasn't a villain... They were so lucky he was Danny Phantom otherwise they would've been dead three years ago.

Which actually brought him to wonder why he hadn't heard any other noises in the background that would've indicated Pamela in the house. He also didn't hear her voice over the phone... He wondered if something happened to her, and what it might've been.

No. No, that was just his hero side taking over. He was being paranoid. Sam's mother was fine, otherwise Jeremy would've been a little more distressed.

He couldn't bear to think any more about it. What with Sam's parents, their unbelievable attitude...and...just... Ugh. Why couldn't things have been different? If he could he'd transfer Sam to an alternate reality where she still had everything. She would still be loved by her parents, the twins would be his biologically, and that rapist would never have been born. Everything would remain as it was, but with a few changes. Even if it meant he and Sam wouldn't be together...

But what was, was. There was nothing he could do to change it and there was no alternate reality Sam could go to. He doubted she would even want to go to an alternate reality. He knew she loved her life as it was, save for a few things.

He leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes, fighting back the urge to massage his temples. In spite of the fact that he was out of anyone's view, he wouldn't be showing that kind of behavior even to himself. He could sigh, sure, but going so far as to rub his temples? Yes, her parents had already given him a migraine, but for everyone else's sake...especially Sam's...he would just act normally. So then tomorrow it was. He hoped Sam would have a good rest tonight because tomorrow... Well...he didn't know how tomorrow would go. He could only hope it went okay-ish, at the least.

He took a deep breath. There was no going back now. He honestly didn't know if it was the best idea to be doing this behind Sam's back but even if it blew up in his face it would be worth it. Hopefully.

He smiled in disbelief. He was such an idiot. This wasn't a clueless action, this was pure stupidity. Tucker had been so right... He could've called the whole thing off instead of reaching that final agreement. What if this really did end up hurting Sam worse? What if she was finally starting to get over her parents? And then here he was, setting up an entire little operation behind her back. She hated lies. She trusted him.

He put a hand to his forehead and took another breath. She loved him. She gave him her life, her kids, her love, and her trust. Did he seriously just agree to throw all that away? If her parents wouldn't hurt her, he would. And if this situation took a turn for the worst... It was so possible for her to hate his existence if everything went wrong. And with his luck, something _always_ went wrong. For a moment he thought about using a reverse-psychology jinx to ensure everything went smoothly. Then he second guessed it and waved off the idea. Better not to place any kind of jinx on it. But then he would be risking it all... Why? Why had he been so willing to risk everything he had just so he could lay down a line for the slim possibility of Sam's parents being able to re-love her or something? Or at least establish a relationship. It made so much sense but now it didn't make any. What kind of moron would do anything like this?

But he couldn't tell Sam even though she would want to know. She deserved to know. This was her family. And he was keeping everything from her. He hadn't let on to a single thing but he still felt like he was lying through his teeth every time he opened his mouth to talk to her. Part of him was hoping Tucker would come right out and say it, tell her everything. But the logical part criticized himself and scolded him, as if saying he was completely ignoring the truth. Well he was, actually. He hadn't just been ignoring the truth, he'd been denying it as well. He didn't want to believe this could go horribly wrong.

But the truth that he did stick to and that he did know was that Sam needed some form of communication between her parents, if only for one day. But was it really his job to provide it?

His disbelieving smile dropped and the hand on his forehead now ran itself through his raven locks.

**A/N**

**Before I say anything in this A/N, I REALLY would encourage you to watch an anime called Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne. Why? Because I'm hoping one of you is like me, wanting to make youtube videos. I'm trying to find episodes WITHOUT the subtexts and credits but I'm failing horribly. Praying someone will come along and tell me which site. Torrents welcome! AND IT HAS TO BE FREE AND WITHOUT REGISTRATION OR SOME KIND OF DOWNLOAD THINGY THAT YOU NEED TO INSTALL. Because every time I install those stupid download things, I'll go back to the same site in hopes that it'll let me download something, and then it winds up redirecting me to the download link of the download program I just installed. SO NO PROGRAM INSTALLATION!**

**Well, what'd you think? You like it? Hate it? Does it rock? Suck? Either way, here it is. This IS a filler chapter, but I feel like it kind of needed to be put in here just because everyone seems to think Danny is so hellbent on the idea and never thought much of it, when in reality it was slowly eating at him.**

**Well now! Now her parents have agreed on a meeting, KNOWING that Sam doesn't know about this yet, and it's happening tomorrow. Hmmm... Most of you have suspected that they would say yes, and you were right, BUT what do you think they'll do now? They clearly weren't too keen on meeting the twins, so that should give you some hint. They said yes knowing Sam would be coming, so do you think there's an ulterior motive behind their decision? My my, so many unanswered questions... Let's see how things go.**

**JUDGE ME LATER.**

**New quota is four hundred ninety-seven (497).**

**Replies:**

**_ShadowDragon357_- lol And let's not forget poor "meatless" Danny. He'll hate that so much... :3**

**_princessbinas_- XD I never said you guessed right. Heck until this whole poll thing tides over, I don't know the traits of the new baby/babies.**

**_HeroAce_- Oh yes he is! :D And yeah...I realized that thing with the photo but I'm just like, whatever. People get the gist, they know what it means. lol And you know what's funny? He seems to be forgetting Sam's pregnancy hormones. XD Well, now! You're the first person ever to think about them. To reward you, yes, I was gonna bring them back in but more as side characters since they're OCs and not many people like OCs. Although I've managed to bring in plenty and no one's minded so far. :P**

**_Soofi Mtz_- We'll see how that goes, huh? ;) For all you know, you could be right.**

**_ChristinCC_- :D Thanks! I was hoping that would reignite a little interest in the story. I felt like it needed something new, a little twist in it.**

**_Mirlyinda_- Well here they are! And thanks! :D**

**_Mata Nui_- XD Oh wow, I swear I have some of the most violent readers on all of fanfiction! Please give him a good tombstone. ;) He had good intentions.**

**_LittleBoomBoom_- XD Oh, sure, 'cause nothing EVER blows up in his face, right?**

**_sammansonrepilica_- No, you're fine, and don't feel uncomfortable asking anything about the story. If you're curious about something then hey, just go for it. I'm the furthest thing from judgmental. Anyway, to answer you, yes, they still "do it". Danny's not uncomfortable with it anymore so he has no more inhibitions.**

**_Guest_- o.o WOAH. All these chapters in TWO DAYS?! I take it you're a binge reader.**

**_AJ_- It's fine. And unless I die or become paralyzed (or something like that, you get the point), I'm keeping up on this story. I'll only stop when it's complete, just as I did in Flowers Will Bloom.**

**_SuperGeorgia_- Dang, three days? And I know you read Flowers Will Bloom because I saw your review, so just...whew. Doesn't that chalk up to 67 chapters TOTAL, each with about 3,000 wpc? I just don't know how you could do that... o.o And don't put off your homework just because of me! Er, this story. Sometimes I take a little longer to update than I'd like so trust me, you always have time.**

**THANK YOU to all who have sat there and put up with me! :D Every last one of you ROCKS!**

*****Also, I had taken down the original Flowers Will Bloom in hopes that the rewritten version would gain more attention (which it has), but I've recently decided to put it back up. If you had FWB faved or followed, you'll need to re-fave and/or re-follow.**


	36. Chapter 36

~Chapter 36~

It was Thursday. The first half of the day was spent in silent dread of what was to come. The fact was, Sam would be uncomfortable. She was pregnant, so that emotion could intensify. If that happened, there was no telling what she would do. Even when she was pregnant with the twins, she had been unpredictable. So far this time was proving to be a smoother ride, but he also had a good eight months to go before another Fenton would greet the outside world. It was impossible to tell what would happen during what would undoubtedly be the roughest ride of Sam's life.

And of course, there was Tucker to deal with. It didn't help when he was guilted into feeling like a dead man when his friend told him that the meeting could stress Sam out. With the experiences from her previous pregnancy, stress was the last thing he wanted to burden her with. But it was set up and done now, meaning there was no backing out.

He was so ready to let a tear slip out, not because of Sam, but because of the pressure being put on him and the resulting frustration. It could also be due to his gut feeling that Sam wouldn't be in a compromising mood when he got home.

* * *

><p>The doorbell rang. It had to be the worst timing since the twins always ran to the door thinking it was a member of the family. Family had become very important to them and they would only play with their friends if someone came with them, or if their friends came over to the house.<p>

Sam held back the twins while Maddie answered the door. She couldn't see past the woman but somehow recognized the voice of the other person. She was expecting it to be Danny but hadn't truly counted on it since he never came to the house during school hours. Although she recognized the voice, though, she just couldn't put her finger on who it was no matter how hard she tried. It was weird... She knew the voice... She knew it but she just couldn't-

Her eyes narrowed in confusion at first when Maddie moved out of the way and invited the person in. That voice was familiar.

But it was the appearance of that person that snapped her memory in gear.

The gender. The slim figure. The height. The sandy hair. The chipped tooth. Sandra.

Sandra._ Sandra._ Why did it have to be _Sandra_, of all people?

She felt her eye twitch just once with the nightmare that she-demon had created for her at Other Ways. If it was Amber, or even Jenna... But no...it was Sandra.

The girl stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Sam. The fuming, glaring Sam whose eyes were swimming with memories.

"Samantha," she said coldly.

"Sandra," Sam returned.

Maddie gently closed the door and walked away, taking one last glance behind her as she made her way past the two girls and down to the basement.

Once Maddie was well out of earshot, the tension in Sam sharply increased. Part of her was glad Danny wasn't here. If she decided to beat the crap out of Sandra, he wouldn't be here to stop her.

The two girls stared each other down, both caught in a deadlock. For several moments they stayed that way, standing stiffly in front of each other.

"What are you doing here?" Sam finally spat, breaking the silence when she felt a small hand cling to her jeans.

"What's it to you?" she retorted, crossing her arms as if to prove some undetectable point.

"Uh, oh, you know, how should I put thi- I LIVE HERE!"

"Pfft. Figures you'd live in a house with a huge neon sign." She quickly looked at Lilith and Sam was just as quick to push her behind her leg instead of beside it, where she wanted to be.

"Guess the stress of your 'problem' cost you the other one?"

Sam scowled at the complete lack of concern in Sandra's tone. Junior was most likely hiding nearby, probably behind the couch, too shy to peek around it. He only hid when there was a stranger in the house, but he gradually warmed up to them and would appear from wherever.

"More like the other just hates your guts," she replied, a slight smirk on her face.

The girl scoffed and said, "At least I'm not a young mother of twins! And where's the daddy, hm? Dumped you? Or did you convince a different guy that he's the father?"

The goth's smirk returned to a hateful scowl as she answered, "When did my personal life become your business?!"

"And I'm guessing he's leading a normal life while you had to drop out," she continued.

"Oh please, like you know anything about my life! So what if I had to drop out? Why does that matter to _you_?"

"Well we lived together for a good while."

"Yeah, about three _years_ ago! And in case you've forgotten, I hated you! I still hate you! How can a person like you have a friend like Amber? I was lucky to have her and Jenna there to help out; you just made everything worse." Sam pointed an accusing finger at the girl. "I was miserable enough without you, and then I got the _pleasure_ of meeting you. Do you have any idea just how_ horrible_ you are? My best guess is that Amber secretly hates you but she's too nice to admit it."

"Miserable? Really? Amber suffered with me, she was there for me. I like Amber because she doesn't exaggerate. I like Jenna because she actually had problems! But you! You brought this on yourself! You were practically begging to get knocked up when you-"

Sam immediately cut her off with, "Look, I never took you to be the violent type, but trust me when I tell you, _I am_. Keep this up and I swear, I'll beat you into next week!"

"I'm not stupid. I can tell a bluff," she replied, arms still smugly crossed.

"You're stupid if you _think_ I'm bluffing!"

"You're stupid to try to fool me."

Sam closed her eyes and clenched her fists, feeling the urge to show Sandra the difference between a bluff and a threat. She was just asking for another chipped tooth, one that wouldn't make her look cute.

To take precautionary measures, she pushed Lilith out of the room. Her brother diligently followed, seeming to have zero curiosity for what was happening. Lilith, on the other hand, was just _dying_ to know what was going on even though she couldn't understand it. She was three; she wasn't expected to understand. Heck, she wasn't even born when Sandra made her intentions clear at Other Ways. Well, 'intentions' probably wasn't the right word but there was no other way Sam could think to put it. She couldn't help but wonder what would happen if Sandra never knew she was pregnant at the time. The girl seemed fine with Jenna, and Amber was her best friend. For some reason it was Sam alone who got all the crap that girl had to offer. It was a good thing Amber offered consolation, which unfortunately wasn't much appreciated at the time. Looking back, it was a blessing to have Amber around.

No sooner than Sam opened her mouth to speak did the doorknob turn with a click. Sandra turned around but, as Sam caught at the last moment, she was putting on a much more professional face than she had when they were 'talking'.

Danny peeked his head through a now slightly cracked door and practically shrunk back when he saw Sam's furious expression. A business woman and a very furious pregnant woman. It wasn't an everyday sight.

"Um," he started.

"Danny, get in here before I kill this woman!" Sam snapped.

She did look pretty serious about what she said and being pregnant, tired, and now stressed, he wouldn't put it past her to show a little violence. She was small but dangerous, and could hold one heck of a grudge for months on end. And she wasn't afraid to remind him of it. Sam had wrath in abandon and this woman would soon suffer from it unless he did something...and even then it wasn't a guarantee.

The woman moved closer to him and she come in, shutting the door behind him as silently as possible. It was at times like these, although he had no idea what was going on, that Sam became a land mine. The slightest nudge in any direction could and would set her off and he didn't want sound to be one of them.

The woman cleared her throat and said, "I'm actually here to ask Samantha a few questions."

"About what?" he replied as quickly as he could, succeeding in stopping Sam from doing anything rash.

"Danny Phantom," she answered.

He frowned, along with Sam. He wondered if she knew this was why the woman was here and if this was why she was set in kill mode.

"Well...what do you want to know about him? Nobody really knows much. He shows up to fight, then he disappears," he said.

"Oh, trust me, someone knows him _very_ well," she countered.

Turning to face Sam, she continued, "And she's standing right there."

"Wha-?! Why would I know anything about Danny Phantom?!" she yelled, more angrily than panicky.

The woman crossed her arms over her chest and replied, "It's amazing how I seem to be the only one who remembers that little incident at Other Ways."

"Incident...?"

"And I have my suspicions about it being a chance encounter. I firmly believe that he'd hung around with you, and that's why I saw him with you that one time," she said.

Danny was quick to grab her shoulder and pull her back to face him. "You said this was at Other Ways?"

She nodded. "Yes, but why would you be so interested in it? Do you know him too?"

Considering 'he' wasn't even a different person, then more than she knew, yeah.

"I'm just surprised that he would show up there is all. And how do you know Sam went to Other Ways?"

The goth grunted and coughed out, "Sandra."

Sandra... Sandra... The name rang a bell but he couldn't place his finger on it.

"Samantha and I were roommates-"

"And _not_ on friendly terms, you she-devil!"

"Oh will you just give it a rest already?! I came here strictly on business-"

"And you're still here! Get out or so help me I'll make you regret ever _looking_ at the 'big neon sign'!"

Well this kind of fighting seemed familiar. The only time she fought like this was with Paulina, but this wasn't Paulina so...

"Oh sure, kick me out when I'm just doing my job!"

"_I_ am not your job!"

"Actually, _you_ are my job! You're the only one who knows anything about Danny Phantom and I'm here to gather that knowledge."

"Even if I did know him, give me one good reason why I should tell you."

"We lived together once. Sure don't want those precious memories to go to waste."

"Uh-huh, yeah. 'Those precious memories' need to be burned until their molecules are driven out of existence."

"Look, just set your little grudge aside and cooperate already!"

And thus, Sam's endurance ended when fury got the better of her and she slapped Sandra_ hard_ on the cheek. The resounding force of the contact was enough to catch Danny's attention and set his body on autopilot. This rescue was a damsel in distress, and it was from a distressed damsel so...not exactly your typical rescue mission. But with Sam past her limits, this called for immediate action.

He pulled the woman away from Sam and ushered her out the door, probably being a little rougher than he realized.

"Okay, my sweet little Sam is now set to kill, so unless you want to be the victim of a homicide, you should leave and come back never," he whispered as he pushed her out of the house. He slammed the door behind her before she had a chance to respond.

"Danny, what happened?" Sam asked him as he was turning around to face whatever metal-on-metal music she had to offer.

"Huh?"

"What happened? Why did she come _here_, of all places, to look for information about you?"

"Are you wondering if this has anything to do with the Guys In White?"

"No, not really." Sam sighed heavily and sat on the couch. "Somehow I can't see Sandra taking up a government role. She was right though. She did see you at Other Ways. Er, to be more specific, she saw Danny Phantom. You wanted her to quit stressing me out, which by the way didn't work at all, so you showed yourself right in front of her and honestly, you could've done a better job at pretending you didn't know me."

"I think I'm starting to remember it now... I usually came to see you at night though, remember? Of course, I came to see your ultrasound. Couldn't miss that. But other than that I don't think I came out during the day and when I did I was invisible."

"Hm... Well, it wasn't necessarily during the day... It was really early in the morning. Amber actually walked right past you but thankfully she was too drowsy to notice you. Kind of awkward... But you did show yourself to Sandra and you talked to her, basically telling her you knew my secret and that you were tired of her giving me all that crap. It was sweet at the time but like I said, you could've done a better job at pretending you didn't know me."

"So that's why she figured you knew me. My ghost half anyway," he mumbled.

"I know this is random, Danny, but while we're on the topic of your ghost half, what are planning with the kids?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean are you planning to tell them, keep it a secret, what?"

"I'm going with secret on that one."

"Why? They're your kids, don't you think they should know?"

He shook his head and sat down beside her. "No. Even the adults think Danny Phantom is so awesome and cool and the paparazzi is always at my heels. I could fill a whole pool with a different newspaper for every heroic deed I've done. And that's why the kids can't know. They can see Danny Phantom but they can't know _I'm_ the one they're seeing."

"Again, why?"

"Think about it, Sam. All kids think the world of superheroes. What do you think would happen if they found out Fenton and Phantom are one in the same? They would try to follow me into battle and I couldn't live with myself if I let something happen to them. And something's _bound_ to happen if they put themselves in harm's way. If it's someone like Walker that I'm up against and the kids try to help me... I mean, their intentions would be good but Walker has his goons by his side everywhere he goes. I could be battling three different ghosts and I wouldn't be able to protect them if they got caught. And what do you think would happen if anyone in the Ghost Zone found out that I have kids? How many ghosts do you think would come after them? Maybe it sounds mean but I can't put them in danger like that."

And speaking of danger... He still had to convince Sam to come with him for whatever excuse he would make up to get her to see her parents, at least one last time.

But before anything else, he needed her to calm down and get some rest. Hopefully after a nap, she would be more cheerful and lenient, which would give him a much better chance of convincing her to go with him.

**A/N**

**...I...I just... I'm so sorry! I've neglected this for a LONG time, I know. I started up a new Inuyasha story called Sepia and as with all stories, my interest was piqued beyond belief. I chose to write out my ideas, get the story started up and stuff, and then get back to this when I had to attention span to focus on it long enough to finish the chapter. Well, my interest has decreased enough to let me write FWG again, so voila! ...I know I don't have a right to sound happy. T_T I'm sorry, everyone...**

**As I usually do with my A/N's, some news is posted. The gender-of-the-baby poll is finished and will be taken down. For those of you who didn't vote yet, I'm sorry but you snoozed so you loozed. I did keep up the reminders though. Instead, a new poll will be posted and I think you'll all like this one! ;D BABY NAMES! I already have a girl name picked out, which means that all names will be boys' names. Before I post it though, I will ask you through this A/N to review your ideas. Any name you want will be in the poll for everyone to vote on as well as my own names, just to get things going. The poll won't be posted until the next chapter. This way, everyone has plenty of time to think of and suggest their own ideas.**

**No guarantees the baby will be a boy. ;) Sorry.**

**And another norm for my A/N's, review replies. You definitely deserve it this time and as a bonus, no review quota. Anyway, the replies:**

**_ChristinCC_- Thanks. :) Not often that I get a comment saying a filler was all right.**

**_princessbinas_- You know...I don't think Inuyasha does swallow his pride... -_- He should! I mean, if he's gonna keep bouncing back and forth between Kikyo and Kagome...! And poor Kagome! Kikyo's a clay pot living off HER soul! So, Inuyasha, you've got a choice here: a dead girl made of ashes and dirt, or a sweet living girl who sticks by your side no matter what you say to her. HMMMM. HARD DECISION. Kikyo needs to die, she's a scourge to the series! I always feel so bad for Kagome, especially when she tries to take it in stride KNOWING that he went to see Kikyo AGAIN. ...Excuse my rant... Well, I can't say whether Sam's mom will or will not suck it up.**

**_Mirlyinda_- Nobody ever wants to go to school. But...trust me...enjoy ONLY school while you still can. Gas prices and taxes will hit you before you know it. And I have an old car so let's not forget car repairs. And semi-repairs. We had to disconnect a door and one of the windows no longer works. Plus, the bulb behind the dashboard died so now I can't see the gears at night. Oh, and try not to get your fingers stuck in the trunk if you get a 1990's Lincoln. 'Kay? 'Cuz...it hurts like crap. Especially if you find out it's all in vain because the air conditioning still won't work. Hurts even worse then... T_T**

**_Mata Nui_- XD Okay. Okay. That just cracked me up! LOL! Sam might start adopting a tough love policy with him.**

**_HeroAce_- ...Ummm...huh? I don't think you bypassed the system. Nothing's showing. I don't have an Android, I have an iPhone. In FWB, it tells us that her grandmother died. Hence the reason Sam never gave thought to being comforted or understood by her parents. Yay! I made OCs enjoyable! :'D That's something most authors don't achieve in their FF lifetime...! I feel like I've been awarded a medal or something!**

**_Radiant Celestial Aura_- :/ Sam's parents are where they've always been... But to be fair, we haven't seen them a very long time so I can understand why you'd ask that. D'awwww, thanks. :D**

**_puppets4ever_- I feel warm and fuzzy now. :3 I'm so glad you like my story!**

**_sammansonrepilica_- See that's the thing. He IS lucky. XD He's given her crap before, like all men, but he hasn't done anything that bad...until now... Muhuhuhuhuhuhwaaaaaaaa... Oh trust me, Danny WILL get his after this is over with. XD His intentions are good though, let's just all hope she realizes that. You know...for his sake. Well technically, by legal standards, she was never disowned in the first place. However, when she turned 18, she had the power to choose where her life could go, and she chose Danny. But you are right in that as her parents, they can try to talk her into leaving him despite how she feels about the twins suddenly being moved to a new environment while they're still so young. You're the first to wonder about Pamela. XD Nobody else cared, it's like she could die and they would leap with joy. **

**_jim89_- Well, the dad talking is really just because he picked up the phone...or is it? X3 In FWB, it tells us that her grandmother died, which is why Sam found no consolation in coming home. lol Do not worry, young padawan. All will be revealed... Next chapter that is. :P**

**_Dara999_- Aw, thank you. :) I do try to get the chapters right, but I know people won't like every little thing I do. And that's okay, because I try to make up for it one way or another.**

**_Chloee0x0_- Awwwwww! :D Your review is love enough. ^.^**

**_sunchaser2234_- Yeah, I've been writing and now have a few years of experience under my belt (you must factor in the hiatuses everyone has endured). Well I won't lie. He's grown up pretty fast and taken on responsibilities most adults would have a hard time managing. He's thinking more like an adult, acting more like one, and frankly, doesn't think much of it. As for Sam's parents...they seem to be constantly trying to change Sam from goth to frilly flower, so yes, I figured they wouldn't stand for anything that they know they can't change, and a baby would be something they can't change. And yes, Danny was looking for closure with her parents, knowing that she feared feeling cast out again, but also knowing Sam couldn't really move on unless she got to see them and talk to them and ultimately ask "Why?". He might but only if the circumstances get too nasty. Going against her parents to that level during the time Sam meets up with them after YEARS of complete separation wouldn't be in Sam's best interest. It would have to be after she calms down. Even in the show she's not entirely sensible when she gets into fits of anger, like in Memory Blank when she got so mad she didn't think about what she was doing and saying. Nah, I like long reviews as long as they don't come in too frequently. I'm really glad you like my story enough to give me that review though. :D I feel honored!**

**_Looka'sMagicHell_- At this point you really shouldn't expect anything. XD Yeah...this chapter didn't show what happened (YET) but Sandra will play an important role later on (between you and me...and whoever happens to read this).**


	37. Chapter 37

**A/N: I know I don't usually write an A/N at the beginning of a chapter, but as both an announcement and a reminder, the baby name poll is up on my profile! There's plenty of names to choose from and as a bonus, if you can't decide which names you like the most, that's okay because you can vote 40 TIMES! You'll notice that both male and female names are there. Why? Well because if there's only one-sex names, you'll already know the gender(s) of the baby(ies). Wouldn't be a surprise now would it?  
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**I also know that in the last chapter there would only be boy names but my girl name which I already had picked out, Vanessa, is out and I want to decide on a new name. Therefore, the names consist of both boy and girl names.  
><strong>

~Chapter 37~

The walk down to the park was nothing but one strange, neverending silence. The air was uncomfortable to the both of them-which said something since Sam still had no clue why she was being led to the park in the middle of the day.

The twins were under Grandma and Grandpa's care for the moment. Danny hadn't told either of them why he'd left other than to take Sam to the park. Tucker had texted him right in the middle of the walk saying, "You're a dead man." And he was probably right. Sam would _not_ be happy to know what he'd done. Plus, depending on which way this went, she wouldn't want to talk to him-and therefore would _not_ talk to him-for days, maybe even weeks! To top that, she might never forgive him for this. He was already half ghost but at this rate no amount of intangibility would help. Phantom/Fenton really were dead men, or at least would be after this. Looking back it might not have been the wisest idea to set something up without Sam's consent. Then again she would never consent to it if she knew and dragging her here would be futile because she wouldn't have come along to begin with. He wouldn't put it past her to simply call off the whole thing whether her parents knew or not. But she couldn't call anything off if she was already there, now could she?

Plus he had to factor in her pregnancy. Her previous pregnancy had been...shaky. She had been emotional, testy, and at times, fickle. She had legitimate reasons for every feeling she had, including when she got ticked off at him for something she said wasn't his fault, but her mood swings were severe and tended to last for a nice little while. In fact, some of them had lasted weeks.

"What are you thinking about?"

Oh...you know...just what she would do when she found out he had secretly set up a meeting with her parents behind her back.

"Sam, when we get to the park...don't kill me-"

"Why, what did you do?" she asked warningly.

"It's for your own good," he replied.

"Danny, what are you up to?"

"You'll probably get ticked beyond words-"

"Danny!"

"I swear, I'm trying to make things better for you, just keep that in mind when you attempt to claw my eyes out."

He grabbed her hand as he approached the picnic table where a man with very light blonde hair sat.

"Danny, who's that?"

"Don't hold a grudge, if possible."

"Danny, what are you doing?!"

She began to pull away from him. He knew she was recognizing this man to be her dad.

"No, I don't want to do this," she choked.

He kept silent, knowing she was scared now and if he let go, was likely to flee despite her stubborn nature.

"Danny, no, please, let me go!" she begged, yanking back one last time.

"We're putting an end to this, Sam," he said firmly.

Begging from her wasn't normal. Hormonal or not, she preferred to keep up a strong image and _never_ begged. So to hear this coming from her, of all people, was making it hard for him to do the right thing, even if that right thing seemed stupid and dangerous...because right now he was playing with fire.

"Stop! Danny, no!" she cried.

Jeremy looked their way, which was when he felt Sam stop struggling. It was the exact opposite of the reaction he was expecting, but at least it was positive...hopefully.

He suddenly felt her looking at him like he was sort of despicable person with equally despicable intentions. Tucker's blunt "You're a dead man." ran through his mind and he started to realized just how right his friend was. Sam wouldn't just kill him after this, she would _annihilate_ him. She would hopefully thank him later. Assuming, that is, that he was by some fortunate chance still alive.

The man waved them both over, and Danny tightened his grip on Sam as he followed the gesture. He would never hurt her but he knew the goth's wrist was probably turning red by now.

It was only when they sat down across from her father that Sam's arm went completely slack. She looked down, probably more of an attempt to avoid looking at Jeremy rather than being depressed. That kind of body language signaled her fear of rejection and Danny felt it. He didn't _like_ doing this but hopefully the fear she felt now would later turn into understanding of what he was trying to accomplish by doing this. It wasn't something he was trying to burden her with, it was something he was trying to help her through. And, being Sam, she wouldn't see it that way. Not at first at least.

"Sam, your dad and I agreed to talk civilly. Nobody will lash out," he explained. "The reason we're here is to talk about the twins. I think it's time he knows what _really_ happened."

"And if I don't feel like talking?" she muttered, just enough so Danny could hear her.

"Then I'll do it. This ends _today_."

Jeremy cleared his throat to get their attention.

"I was told that basically, you've hidden something from me," the man said, clearly trying to get straight down to the point.

"So what if I have?" Sam hissed, still refusing to look at anyone. "Maybe I had my reasons."

And this was taking a quick turn. This would probably end with Sam getting riled up and screaming until either she left or Jeremy left. It would have the opposite effect and this was proven by how she indicated in her tone that she was trying to chase her father away. She could act like she didn't want to be here all she wanted but as long as he'd been with Sam, Danny could see through her deceptions. Hopefully Jeremy could too. It may be wise to simply add to this conversation that she was pregnant. It could alter the course and perhaps make Jeremy understand why she was so quick to anger. Then again it would give Sam yet another reason to kill him...

"Samantha, if you've hidden something all this time... You could've at least told me they were twins. On top of that we didn't even know when or where they were born."

She scowled at the trigger words 'at least' but remained surprisingly calmer than he had anticipated.

"You didn't deserve to know," she bluntly replied, crossing her arms and leaning back a little. "You still don't deserve to know."

Yeah...this wouldn't end well...

"And why am I undeserving to know anything about my own grandchildren?"

"Your grandchildren..." she growled. "You really want to know the truth about your ever so precious grandchildren? You really want to know why I wouldn't tell you anything about them when I went into labor?"

"I do believe I deserve to know why I've been kept in the dark about it, yes," her father said as he meshed his fingers together, put his elbows on the table and rested his chin on his hands. In all honesty, it looked as though he was interested in this conversation after all but had put on quite the poker face. It was possible that he may have been interested even when the two boys were talking on the phone to even set up this meeting.

She ground her teeth for a bit before saying, "You would've screamed at Danny for something he never did. _He_ wasn't the one who got me pregnant. _He_ didn't do anything wrong. He never even tried anything funny!"

Not until more recently anyway, but he wasn't about to let the whole world know that.

"Was it that Tucker fellow?"

He saw her flush a new shade of red.

"No it wasn't _Tucker_!" she shouted. "Not that you would _care_ but I have no idea who it was!"

"Samantha-"

"Sam."

"-how do you _not_ know who impregnated you?"

As much as he wanted to intervene and _attempt_ to calm her down, something in his gut told Danny that now just wasn't a good time to do it. Nothing was fully blown out of proportion yet and Sam had enough sense in her to talk without ruining her lungs. Note the word 'yet'. Her mood swings were vicious sometimes and depending on how stressed she already was, it could turn into the killer instinct of a tigress. Insert scary roar here.

"You figure it out! Try to think outside the perfect world you live in and you'll see the dark side of the moon!" she hissed.

It was then that Danny decided to simply come out and ask the real question Sam wanted to know the answer to, and the real reason they had come here to talk to her father.

"Mr. Manson," he said, wishing he had it in him to spit out the bad taste the name left in his mouth, "the reason we came here was because of the twins and yes, we do have something to tell you about them, but first we both have a question that needs to be answered _and_ that deserves to be answered. Do you want to have anything to do with Sam and the twins? I know you hate me, but consider them."

He raised his head and put his hands on the table, sighing.

"I fully understood, and still understand, the consequences for my actions regarding Sam and her pregnancy. I felt she needed to mature and learn responsibility immediately in order to care for a child. However, what you don't know is that Pamela disagreed. We had the worst argument we've ever had on that day and nearly divorced because of it." He turned toward Sam and continued, "Samantha, your mother knew what could've happened to you, and I knew you needed to grow up. We didn't help you, nor did we contact you, simply because you had to learn on your own. Being parents ourselves we already knew the responsibilities and duties needed to provide for a child. You were always incredible at adapting to situations and surroundings and unless it involved a frilly pink dress and the morning sun, you never once complained about it. We both knew you were more than capable of this, but we couldn't raise a child for you or you would never learn. What would you have done if you wanted another child yet knew nothing about parenting? We wanted the best life for both mother and child."

"Best life?! I was fifteen!" she growled, clearly straining to keep herself under control. "Do you have any idea what my life has been like because of you?!"

"I knew you could handle it, Samantha, and you did."

"I..." She took a deep breath to 'calm' herself down. "If Danny and his family hadn't taken me in, I wouldn't have a life to handle. Do you know how straining that was on my body? The twins could've been born with complications and for over half my pregnancy I had no prenatal care!"

"Why did you have no prenatal care?"

And the tensions were running high..._again_.

"Because the stress was too much for me to handle on my own. I'm downright lucky I had Danny to help me through it because if not for him, the twins would _not_ be here right now and trust me, neither would I."

"Suicide..." he mumbled.

"No. No, not suicide. I put myself in danger on more than one occasion but unlike you, Danny never gave up on me. My life was a wreck and at the time, unfortunately, I didn't much appreciate the help he offered. At one point I even thought he was just trying to make me more miserable but he wasn't. He was trying to help me."

She tugged on the ends of her sleeves at the comment and he remembered that awful little pocketknife. He also remembered how often she kept distancing herself from everyone else, like she was starting to detach from the world. He knew she was remembering the same thing, as well as when he sent her off to Other Ways.

"My pregnancy after you kicked me out wasn't what you would call 'fun'. Do you want to know what happened the same day you kicked me out? As in _right after_ you did that?"

"I remember the downpour and knew you had taken shelter elsewhere," Jeremy answered.

"Shelter?" she said. "I wish! I was too upset to think about shelter. I didn't go anywhere of my own will. I don't know who the real father is because I was _raped_ that day!"

Both the boys took a sharp breath merely at the word itself. Danny tried to sneak a hand over hers but she yanked it away. Yeah, it didn't look like comfort was an option right now...

"For the second time!" she added just as Jeremy opened his mouth to speak. "The first time was what got me pregnant, the second time was what got me amnesia! I have no memory of what he looked like, I only remember how it _felt_! Danny was the one who came looking for me even though it meant going out into that storm. He found me unconscious and yes, naked that day, but the only thing he tried to do was cut off the ties around my wrists and the gag around my face. My clothes had been completely torn apart so he gave me an oversize shirt he had in his closet."

"Why didn't you tell me about what happened the first time, when you still remembered?"

"Well if _you_ were a woman and _you_ were violated, would _you_ want to talk about it?" she retorted.

"That's a fair answer," he quietly replied. "Is this what you wanted to tell me about the twins?"

"Uh, yes!" the half quickly interrupted. "That's...that's what we came to tell you."

"I'm very happy to see that you've taken care of my daughter; I really, truly am...but are you yourself fit to be their foster father at such a young age?"

"Blood doesn't mean anything," Danny replied, relaxing at the knowledge that this conversation was finally turning to him instead of continuing to rile up a hormonal Sam. "I've been Sam's partner in taking care of them and I've always thought of myself as their father. I've never seen them less simply because I didn't...uh, partake in the...um...'making' of them. It doesn't matter to me where they came from, I don't think it's possible to love anything more than your children."

"It's highly respectable what you're doing but you're still not their biological father. Kids have a way of sensing that and they'll eventually want to know who their real father is. What will you do then?" the man asked.

"I...I don't really know. I guess I'll just have to cross that bridge when we get there."

It was at that moment that Sam stood up and shoved Danny out of the way. This time she meant business, otherwise she wouldn't have looked her father in the eye so readily.

"Why would you even _ask_ about their bloodline? What does it matter to someone who obviously didn't care about me or the twins for the past three years? It's been three years, Dad! I'm pretty sure you would know that they've been born by now!"

Crap...

"And you were talking about having another child earlier? Right?" she continued. "Then you're sitting there going on about...about biological fathers and stuff? Right?! Well newsflash!"

Ooohhhhh, this wouldn't end well...

"In about nine months Danny _will_ be a biological father!" she screeched, drawing the attention of several nearby picnickers. "There's your bloodline if it means so much to you!"

Crapcrapcrapcrapcrap...

He dropped his head onto the table and tried to look apologetic to the man despite the circumstances under which this news was told and to whom this was told. Honestly Danny didn't regret ever having slept with Sam in the first place but the freezing cold glare Jeremy was giving him made him regret this meeting. He was also pretty sure the blush on his face wouldn't allow him to lie about anything.

"Congratulations, dude!" some random guy in the background yelled out.

He ran a hand through his hair, for some reason feeling the need to justify himself.

"Look, Mr. Manson, I just... I mean, Sam and I, we love each other a lot and something was bound to come from that eventually. It just... It came now, is all..." he said, squeaking out the last part.

"And you know what? I don't think _either_ of us regrets it," Sam growled.

She quickly grabbed the collar of Danny's shirt and pulled him into a forceful kiss in an act of sheer defiance, looking at her father and daring him to say otherwise.

The man stood and dusted himself off, his face showing no expression whatsoever.

"Very well," he said. "I will take my leave now. Goodbye, Samantha."

She let go of Danny and slipped out of the table herself, not bothering to dust herself off, as if there was even anything to dust off.

Each person went the opposite way. As he'd anticipated, this conversation didn't end well and now that another, unexpected baby came into play, he somehow doubted Jeremy and/or Pamela would be willing to see the twins.

He caught up to Sam and put a hand on her shoulder only to have to slapped away. Her kiss had been anything but loving. She kissed him not out of affection, but to challenge her father to be protective of her. He instead ignored that challenge and chose to back out of the entire situation, which Danny knew killed her inside. She was fuming at him right now and wasn't very likely to talk to him for the next few hours. Not to say he was okay with it, but he accepted it with ease, especially since he knew from the beginning she would act this way. He would just have to play the waiting game until she simmered down enough for him to talk to her and get her to hear him out.

**A/N**

**I sort of posted everything before this chapter so I don't have much to say. Considering that I had to get everything in this chapter down JUST RIGHT, I really wouldn't call it delayed...just very hard to do. I mean, I know it might not seem like it, but having the tension start off with distress and changing into anger is a lot harder than it looks, especially since I'm trying to keep a steady pace.**

**Oh, right! The reason Sam's mom didn't show up was because of their disagreement. ;) Don't worry...you'll find out...**

**I do want to ask a review quota this time because again, I put a LOT of effort into this chapter. So new quota is five hundred twenty-seven (527) reviews.**

**And now, review replies:**

**_Alisi Thorndyke_- Updated. Just...not as quickly as I'd have liked.**

**_princessbinas_- I also ship InuKag. I've also seen the entire series plus Kanketsu-Hen, but for some reason I still hate her. Although I do like that she gave Kohaku a second chance at life. And yes, it was Mt. Hakurai that she SEEMS to die, but never did die. She needed Kagome's spiritual powers to heal her wounds but was alive the whole time.**

**_Guest_- No, there's more chapters. :) I just have a hard time updating as frequently is all...**

**_darkangeloflove15_- Done and done! :)**

**_Mirlyinda_- Since SEPTEMBER?! Ah...geez... I'm so sorry! D:**

**_HeroAce_- I was never really gone, but I suppose this story was gone for a while. Darn this brain.**

**Hey, guys? Remember that I can't keep these polls up forever so don't procrastinate. You have until Sam reaches 6 months, when her ultrasound will reveal all. After that, I'm sorry, but if you didn't vote it'll be too late.**


	38. Chapter 38

~Chapter 38~

That night, Sam went so far as to actually kick Danny out of their room, slamming the door in his face as soon as he tried to get in. He did have intangibility but the last thing he wanted to do was make her even angrier at him. The problem was, he would have to go in there anyway whether it made her mad or not. Every time he didn't sleep with his arms around her, she would have night terrors and scream out for him to protect her from the evil nonexistent shadow people that lived in the corner of the room. As sweet as holding her at night sounded, he didn't do it to be sweet or cuddly. He only did it to help her sleep peacefully.

Once she had that spell, he would have to go in the room and calm her down...which sadly could take hours to do. Especially now that she was pregnant, the extra stress could cause strain on the fetus. It probably wasn't the best timing in the world to royally tick her off... There was no actual 'best timing', but she was _pregnant_. Stress for her was more dangerous than stress for anyone else. Depending on which stage of pregnancy she was in at the time, it could cause a miscarriage, complications with the pregnancy itself and/or birth, or a stillborn. None of them were good, though that really didn't need to be said since it was just that obvious.

It was a good and bad situation during the night. What he had expected never came. Sam didn't wake up screaming for him. It was good news because it signaled the start of her overcoming her fear of darkness, hopefully. It was bad news because she might actually be _so_ mad at him that she had actually _forgotten_ she was even scared of the dark to begin with. Not that it needed to be said but...if someone got just that angry, it was enough to tell him something in itself. There were no words to describe how furious she was. And worse, at _him_. He might as well go on ahead and tell Tucker to start carving out his tombstone.

It stayed that way in the morning, too. She kept the door closed until the twins woke up, to which she came down to get them. She didn't spare a passing _glance_ at him...

Apparently her cravings were getting a little weirder because her breakfast was a pickle with butter and salt on it. He didn't dare comment on her choice of a rare, unheard of delicacy found only in her imagination. It made his stomach churn just by watching her eat it. At least the orange juice she was having was normal, and not some strange concoction of lemon juice and grape jelly or something. It was the random stuff thrown together that she seemed to like the best so that kind of what could hardly be called a beverage was, as much as he hated to admit it, _normal_ for her. He wondered for a second if it was something she truly thought tasted good or if it was something she felt like she needed to eat. He didn't ask.

He tentatively reached over to tap her should but once again his hand was slapped away. He'd never seen her so angry before... If he said something now, she would only ignore it and act like he didn't even exist. No words could describe just how desperately he was hoping this was one of her more severe mood swings.

And for lunch, the time she usually visited, she didn't come. She also didn't call or text him. It was an awful feeling to know that the girl he was supposed to marry _and_ the one carrying his child would only get infuriated if he tried to explain himself to her.

It went on the same way for about four days before Tucker finally asked the question up front.

"What did you do?" he asked flatly.

"I did what I thought was best," the halfa retorted.

He sniffed and said, "And how'd that go?"

Biting his lip, Danny answered, "Not so good..."

"What happened?"

Deep breath time. Explanation time. "Welp. Only Sam's dad showed up. We talked for a little bit. Everything went semi-smooth at first but hey, there was bound to be some tension and awkwardness..and believe me there was. I still can't believe what she did, but she went_ off_. She told him she was raped and didn't even bother to _hint_ at it. Then Jeremy got into a conversation about bloodlines and me not being the twins' real father, well that _really_ riled her up. I never expected this and honestly, hoped she _wouldn't_ say it, but now he knows she's pregnant by me this time."

"What happened after that?"

"Well, she was so mad at her dad that as soon as I tried to explain myself, she grabbed me and kissed me."

"And that's bad why?"

Danny sighed. "I think I termed it wrong... She grabbed me and forced me into kissing her. But she wasn't kissing me like she normally does, she was so ticked off that she gave this look to her dad. She wanted him to break us up but he never did. She basically threw me back down and everyone went their separate ways."

"Told you it wasn't a good idea," he said, shrugging his victory.

"Look, this hasn't been very fun for me either! She's _shunning_ me! Litera- I mean she is _ticked off_!"

"I told you this would happen and you were to stubborn to listen. Sometimes Uncle Tucker knows best."

"I can't even touch her anymore, she just slaps me away! You know she won't even look at me? She won't look at me, she won't speak to me, she won't do anything! She _avoids_ me, Tuck!"

"Look, man, you asked for this. I can't get involved in you guys' spats, okay? If I could go talk to her, I would, but she's Sam and we all know how Sam is. She hates _you_ right now, not me, and I want to keep it that way."

"You want her to hate me?"

"No. I just don't want her to hate _me_," he clarified.

Danny grabbed his friend's shoulders and looked at him with pleading eyes. "Help. Me."

"Well first you might wanna go stake your claim again," he advised, pointing over Danny's shoulder.

The halfa turned around and to see what Tucker meant and found Sam smiling at some guy he'd never seen before. After four days of lacking existence and four days of having the stressful knowledge that her dad knew she was pregnant again, the last thing he needed was some other guy making a move on _his_ Sam. Despite how cold she'd been, she was still his and he still loved her too much to let her go.

He walked over to the pair and hugged Sam from behind, gently wrapping his arms around her waist and making sure her was in clear view of the mystery stranger who dared to flirt with her. He glared at the person and planted little kisses on Sam's neck. She. Was. Taken. Which meant _no access permitted_ to anyone but himself.

Sam sighed in exasperation. "Danny, can you not?"

"I can and I will," he growled, more to the person who for some reason was still lingering around than to her.

"Would you just-?! Let me go!" she complained.

He tightened his hold on her, pressing her against his body, and kissed her temple.

"She's off limits," he said, once more ignoring her demands.

"Wait a minute, are you actually _jealous_ of him?" she snorted.

He held her even tighter and gritted his teeth. "I'm serious, she's mine."

This time she struggled to free herself but, unfortunately, she had nothing on his strength. "How long am I going to have to deal with your stupid male insecurities?!"

The boy just laughed at that comment and finally said, "Why in the world would I come on to _her_?"

"Oh, so now she's not good enough?" he growled.

Sam stopped squirming and slapped her forehead. This was all one big misunderstanding and Danny was being an idiot _again_. If he didn't stop now he would only make a complete fool of himself. Not to say that he hadn't already, but it would be nice if he didn't drag her into it.

"She's good enough for you-"

"Yes she's good enough for me!" he shouted. "She's the best girl in the world! And you better respect that she is _taken_, pal!"

Oh for love of...!

The boy laughed even harder. "Oh, this is _too_ good!"

"Danny, do you even know who you're talking to?" Sam interjected.

"Look, I don't care how popular you are, or if your someone famous or something, Sam is off the market! So you can just scamper along and find a different girl! Don't make any more moves on mine or things _will_ get ugly!"

"I wasn't hitting on her!" the boy laughed out.

"What's so freaking funny?! I'm dead serious!"

"Well I have a girlfriend."

"YOU TWO-TIMING SON OF A-"

"And you're squashing my cousin," he finished.

Danny slowly closed his mouth as blood quickly rushed to his cheeks. And thus, he had once again made a fool of himself. If only he had let her explain, but nooooo, he had to go and convince himself that this guy...her _cousin_...was hitting on her.

"He's right, you're crushing me, now could you please let me go?" Sam strained.

He released her and she inhaled a deep breath.

"Nice catch, Sam," the boy teased. "I knew he was bad, I didn't know he was this bad."

"Yeah, I got myself the only guy who'll leave red marks on my arms and neck and not even realize he's doing it," she drawled as she straightened out her shirt.

"Bad about what? I'm not bad," the halfa said defensively.

"You're an overprotective nightmare!" Sam snapped.

"I'm not overprotective," he countered. "And even if I was, I have a right to be."

"Right, right, because crushing your precious dove to defend her from another male, despite the fact that that male is her cousin and you got the wrong idea, is definitely _not_ overprotective."

"Wait, dove?" the boy asked.

"That would be his pet name for me."

"But you're a goth..."

"Yes, yes I am. It's a long story that involves me being a makeshift teddy bear for three weeks straight."

"Wait, Sam, hold on there," Danny chimed. "That was not my fault."

She rolled her eyes and said, "I know it's not but you should be glad that you've done stupider things than that incident."

"Like what?!" he scoffed.

"Like just now. You just assumed my cousin was flirting with me and then called him two-timing. On top of that, you acted like I was your property and crushed my bones to prove it."

He shrugged. "You _are_ my property, b-but not in like an _item_ kind of way. But you know, in the game of love and all, I mean...yeah..."

"I get it, I get it, you've claimed me as yours and that's fine but seriously, Danny, you're being a pain in the neck right now and I just don't have the energy to deal with you!" she growled. "And don't forget, you are _not_ off the hook here! I'm still mad at you!"

"Dove, come on-"

"Don't you 'dove' me, you had this coming!"

"Okay. I screwed up. I admit it, I am a complete fool but I never meant to hurt you."

"Then why _did_ you?! Did you really think everything would ride nice and smooth?! You knew as well as I did that the moment I saw my dad, I didn't want to be there. I never wanted to see him again!"

"Yes you did! Yes you did, Sam! I know you did because I was there with you through it all, I know how you were really feeling no matter what you said, and believe it or not I'm sure I'm making this situation worse for myself!"

"Uh, yeah, you are."

"But how much longer are you going to stay mad at me? You've treated me like I'm the plague for the past four days, Sam! You won't even let me sleep with you anymore!"

"Because I couldn't stand you! You knew what you did was wrong, darn you! And I had no idea you were doing all this behind my back and then not even telling me about it _as_ we were walking to the park!"

"That's only because if I'd told you, there was no chance whatsoever of you agreeing to go with me."

"Yeah? And how did that work out? My parents threw me out onto the streets when I was _pregnant_! Last time I checked parents are supposed to look out for their children, not throw them to the wolves!"

"AT LEAST YOU HAD _SOMEONE_ LOOKING OUT FOR YOU!" he screamed. "I DID EVERYTHING IN MY POWER EVEN WHEN YOU KEPT SHOVING ME AWAY! I COULD'VE LEFT YOU WHERE YOU WERE BUT I DIDN'T! EVERY SINGLE THING YOU DID I GAVE IT MY ALL TO HELP YOU, I STUCK BY YOUR SIDE NO MATTER WHAT AND YES, I GOT FRUSTRATED A LOT WITH YOU! IF YOU THINK YOU FEEL BAD NOW, HOW DO YOU THINK I FELT BACK THEN?! YOU THINK YOUR JACKASS OF A DAD WOULD'VE DONE WHAT I DID?!"

Her lip quivered and she raised a hand as tears began to form on the rims of her eyes. The resounding _SMACK!_ that came next caused huge waves of gasps and an equally huge wave of tension to fall over every other student at Casper High.

She pushed past him and ran off campus.

Meanwhile he couldn't do much more than stand there in shock and slowly raise a hand to his cheek. It was the first time Sam had ever struck him. The only other time was when he was hyperventilating and she was trying to calm him down. But this time wasn't like that time. This time she had actually _slapped_ him. He'd just humiliated her in front of the whole school... He'd just done Paulina's job for her...

"Nice job, Romeo!" someone angrily spat at him.

"Way to make a chick cry!" another person added.

"Take an axe to it why don't you!" someone else chimed.

**A/N**

**I don't know about you guys but...I personally want to strangle Danny.**

**Okay, just to get this over with, update faster...because I really am dying to get cracking on the next chapter.**

**Review quota is five hundred thirty-six (536).**

**Review replies:**

**_guest_- I was debating on whether she should tell him that or not for a while. Randomly choiced, she told him.**

**_SuperGeorgia_- XD Oh if you thought he was in the dog house before...!**

**_princessbinas_- I respect your opinion of Kikyo. Many people feel the same way you do. It can be hard sometimes, depending on the person, but I've never had too much of a problem with it.**

**_beautifullove521_- Updated. :)**

**_ShadowDragon357_- What is IRL? And yes, it wasn't the best choice (in fact her dad secretly hates Danny even more now), but she didn't think twice about doing it. And now... Hooooo boy, Danny is going to have a LOT of explaining to do now.**

**_jim89_- Her dad's logic is pretty stupid but it fits his past actions pretty well. This is turning out to be an explanation of FWB, I'm glad I decided to write a sequel. XD**

**_sammansonrepilica_- ;) You'll find out why Sandra came in... Well you never know, I mean... After this, who's to say Danny didn't just ruin it all?**

**_Favorite Daughter Of Hades_- You're right, it COULD mean anything. ;) But what...?**

**_Puppets4ever_- No, it's fine if you say update soon/immediately/right now/etc. I get it all the time. :P **

**DO NOT FORGET THE POLL. AND DO NOT FORGET THAT I'LL HAVE TO TAKE IT DOWN EVENTUALLY. In fact, I'm not waiting through the entire 9 months like I did in FWB, if that's what you're thinking. I'm going to do a few time skips here so you better get your votes in while you have the chance.**


	39. Chapter 39

~Chapter 39~

The rest of the day was spent in a daze over what had happened at lunch. Getting jealous, now that was one thing...but screaming his lungs out at her was an entirely different story. She acted strong, but she was very sensitive and vulnerable inside, and he'd just exposed that to everyone. And this wasn't even mentioning that every bit of that took place not just publicly in front of the entire school, but right in front of her cousin, who he'd already insulted. He had singlehandedly shot down three people in the Manson family: Jeremy, Sam's cousin, and unfortunately...Sam. And he did this all in under an hour. Under half an hour, actually. He really was such an idiot... If he thought Sam was ticked off before...well...

It wasn't just Sam that thought badly of him anymore. The entire school would pass by him giving him cold looks and shaking their heads as they walked by. Most people even gave him the finger. Some of them would spout something at him, usually along the lines of, "You suck!". He deserved every bit of what was thrown at him and didn't attempt to deny any of it. He never swore but today he did and worse! He swore at _Sam_. And it wasn't just a random word used in the spur of the moment, he meant it. He never meant to actually say it to her face, let alone scream it out to the world, but the truth that he knew Sam wouldn't accept and would hate his guts for saying was that her dad just didn't care. He didn't care about her, didn't care about what happened to her, didn't care about where she ended up...he just didn't care.

By setting up that meeting, he wanted her to see that _and accept it_. But she didn't and after four days of pure torture, after four days of grueling self-loathing and regret, something inside him finally snapped and that awful rant just...popped out. He never meant to hurt her, he even said that! But then he blew it all... He hurt her _again_ and this time it wasn't something he could simply take back. He couldn't just say sorry and everything would go back to normal. As if her parents weren't enough, he had to just... He briefly wondered who was the real jackass here. Yeah. That's right. Twice in one day had to prove something, right? Where did that even come from anyway? She had every right to be mad at him...furious even...but...she never gave him a reason to blow up at her like he did. On top of that, she was a tiny little thing and he towered over her. He had to have looked intimidating, possibly even enough to look as though he might get physical. He wouldn't, of course, and he never would, but the fact remained that he did something her dad could never accomplish in his lifetime and that...that was scaring Sam out of her skin. The moment before she slapped him he saw a small glint of fear, tied together with many other emotions. None of those emotions were good ones, but the worst one was the fear he saw. No...not the fear he _saw_, the fear he _created_.

And Tucker had not been on his side today either. He didn't see Sam's eyes...he wouldn't know...but he did know that she had already been hurting, and now she was flat-out suffering. Why? Because a fool finally snapped and did something so stupid no other man would think of doing. Even the jocks of Casper High viewed him lower than they ever did before and had walked by with looks of utter disdain plastered onto their faces.

So when he walked through the door... Well, he was expecting the worst she could do to him. He braced himself for the engagement ring to be taken off and thrown at him. He would be lying if he said he didn't deserve it. What girl in her right mind would want to keep that ring after everything he _just_ put her through? Zero. Even the crazy girls had a right mind. Maybe a small one, but still logical enough to look at him and throw up.

Never before had he felt this kind of regret. He didn't even know it was possible to feel it. This kind pure hatred for oneself was nearly overwhelming. It wasn't like he had no reason to feel this way though. After all, he _did_ scare his fiance and he _did_ humiliate her. On top of that all, he'd gone and brought up her dad and what he did to her, then compared himself to that. It would've been too much even for the infallible Sam to handle.

When he got home, the atmosphere was no better than at the moment this all happened. His father was reading the paper and just barely peeked over it. His expression was unknown but it couldn't be a good one. His mother was vacuuming and actually turned off the vacuum to give him that angry, cold stare that only a mother could give you. Jazz had walked past the corridor leading to the kitchen. She didn't even look at him but she knew he was home. Her expression was almost identical to his mother's. The silence was deafening and he closed the door behind him, knowing he would have to face Sam eventually...assuming he could find her first.

"Daniel James Fenton, what did you do?" His mother crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow in question.

He hadn't really talked since lunch and wasn't very eager to talk now. But this was his mother and he wasn't about to ignore her.

He lowered his eyes and shook his head. "Something I shouldn't have."

His father sighed as his mother looked away, that cold stare of hers turned somewhere else.

"Sam's upstairs," his father muttered.

He wasn't sure if she had told them what happened or if she ran right past them and wouldn't come out of the room, but either way they were horribly angry at him. They knew she was upset and they knew it was his fault. Some people would feel like a victim under all these judgmental looks and the evil glares, the pointed scowls and the shaking heads. But him? No. Sam was the victim and everyone else was letting him know it.

He took a breath and took a step toward the stairs, but stopped. Sam might not even want to see him right now. She didn't with her father. She even said she couldn't stand him. If she couldn't stand him then, why would now be any different? If anything she would've gone from 'not standing' to pure hatred.

"Get up there. You're going to be a man and face her, Danny," Jazz hissed, as though she wanted to yell but didn't want anyone to hear her do it.

It could only mean that Sam was still beyond upset. He would face her, he had to...but what was he supposed to say? He couldn't just stand there and say _nothing_. That wouldn't be fair to her after what he just did.

He swept a hand over the cheek she'd slapped earlier. No one else could see it, but to him it was a bright red hand print. Part of him wished it was still there and hadn't faded away at all.

He slowly made his way up the steps and paused for a moment before turning the doorknob. He was extremely careful about opening the door, just in case it was one of those things that Sam wouldn't be able to stand for. He also wanted to appear as apologetic as possible to her. He felt horrible and guilty but she probably didn't know that. Tiptoeing around her would be the worst way to go though. He couldn't afford to stay quiet about the subject otherwise it would never be resolved. And the sooner she felt better, the sooner he could feel better too. He could get rid of both their heartaches, although Sam's was sure to be worse than his.

He came in and closed the door behind him. His mother resumed vacuuming, most likely to give them some privacy while talking. Downstairs it was loud enough to drive people away, but in his room it made little sound.

He couldn't bring himself to look up even though he knew she was right in front of him, on the bed...waiting.

He kicked at the ground and tried to find the words. It was...hard, to say the very least. Compared to being in the same room with Sam, with just the two of them together, the atmosphere downstairs and in the school was a sunny day. But now the despair hung thickly in the air and would not, under any circumstances, release its grip on them.

He finally found the first question he wanted to ask her before he began a conversation...hopefully one that wouldn't turn into an argument...

"S-Sam..." he started. "I...uh... I-I need to know something. Right before you slapped me, you looked scared, like I was going to hurt you. Did you think I would?"

He heard her sniffle and draw in a shaky breath. "...Yeah. You really looked like you might."

His head shot up and he tensed at her response. There were no words to describe how much those words stabbed at his heart. His suspicions were confirmed with that answer. But hurting her would never even cross his mind... Still, it told him that he did look violent when he went off. Sam? No, she couldn't scare a mouse. But him? He'd scared the girl he _loved_. He did that without even pointing a finger at her. He wondered what he looked like...if his face was red, if his eyes seemed wild. He had been so furious for that moment but once he saw tears in her eyes, followed by that haunting image of the fear _he_ caused, he was brought back to his senses.

"I would never hurt you, Sam," he breathed.

He finally took in the way she was sitting. She was sitting sideways on the edge of the bed, legs pulled tight to her chest. Her chin rested on her knees and she stared off in a daze, her eyes glazed over with a wet film. There were fresh tear trails running from her eyes to her jawline. She'd been crying ever since she ran off...

"Are...are you still mad at me?" he mumbled, tapping his toe against the floor.

She shuddered but showed no response beyond that.

Yes. And he didn't blame her.

He cautiously moved toward her, stopping just a few feet away when her eyes flickered over to him. He knew then that he couldn't go any nearer. He would have to at one point or another, but not now.

"What did I look like when I was...screaming at you?" he asked, forcing out the last few words.

Her reply was rapid and concise. "Violent."

He looked violent... He was only ever violent with ghosts. Why would she...? No, a better question would be, why did he look so violent?

"I... I-I just... I don't really..."

Unable to finish any of his sentences, and knowing it probably wasn't the best idea, he sat beside her and wrapped his arms around her. This hug was much lighter than at lunch and not possessive in the least. His arms practically hung off her body, but he held just enough grip to keep them from doing that.

He pressed his forehead against her cheek, feeling the wetness and wishing it would just _go away_, and said, "I didn't mean to scare you... I don't want you to be scared of me, Sam, I want you to love me."

He felt more tears leak into his hair and immediately regretted not having apologized sooner, then acting like a complete moron by stuttering around like he was. He hugged her just _slightly_ tighter to make sure she could feel his arms around her.

"I know I acted like a complete jackass in my own respect but I didn't even know what came over me."

"Why are you swearing at me now?" she choked.

"I'm not swearing at you, it's just that the simple words don't cut it. I gave you enough crap to deal with by setting up that stupid meeting, then I gave you more crap by getting jealous over your cousin, then all of that piled up and made _shit_ when I blew up. I'm swearing because that's what covers the truth," he whispered. "Please don't be mad at me anymore, Sam. I was wrong, I shouldn't have done what I did..."

"Danny..."

"You're my dove, I want to make you happy. I screwed up _bad_ but I promise, I had some stupid logic, some...crazy idea, that it was what you really needed. Now I want to make it right though, I don't want to hurt you anymore."

"You were right," she suddenly said.

"Right about what?"

"It hurt really bad and I was so angry with you I thought I didn't even love you anymore," she explained.

What...? Didn't...didn't even love him...? He knew she felt bad but he didn't know it had gone this far. So...it really was only a matter of time before that ring came off...

"But," she continued, "you were right. I needed that whether I wanted it or not. And I needed you to scream at me. That meeting showed me my dad doesn't really care anymore, and maybe never did to begin with. Then you finally told me up front. You reminded me of why I fell in love with you in the first place."

He got behind her and pulled her into his lap. "Why?"

For the first time in days he saw her smile at him. "My father wouldn't have done what you did, no one would've. You were with me through hell and high water and never gave up on me even when everyone else would've. You were too stubborn to let me keep drowning and you were too protective to let anyone hurt me."

He smiled as he gently kissed her neck. "So me getting jealous?"

"You made yourself look like an idiot, especially when you kept telling him to back off."

"I didn't know he was your cousin," he whispered, slowly moving up to her lips. "I thought he wanted to take you away from me."

She saved him the trouble and brought her lips to his.

"Isn't it awkward at all for you to be kissing me after we had a big fight?"

He smiled. "Sam, I've been blanked for four days straight. I'll take whatever I can get."

"What are you after?"

He bent his neck down and kissed her collarbone. She'd been with him long enough to get the message.

"It's not even night," she said.

"The vacuum is on and they still think we're making up," he replied, shrugging.

"We already did."

"They don't know that."

"Where is all this determination coming from?" she laughed.

"I missed you..." he whined, brushing her hair aside and kissing the back of her neck.

"Boy, you're working this _hard_, aren't you?"

"No." He transformed into Phantom. "I only work it hard when I pull out my negative hair."

He traced a finger from the top of her shoulders down past her love handles, spreading his hand out when he reached her stomach. He pulled his head back and looked under his hand.

"You're getting really tight down there," he said.

"Congratulations, Danny, you just felt the baby," she replied. "You didn't notice this before?"

"I haven't touched you in days," he reminded her, gently stroking her soon-to-be baby bump.

He pulled up her shirt and turned her sideways to kiss her stomach. She giggled and he gave her a questioning glance.

She shook her head and smiled. "Nothing, it's just... When you were fourteen, you were goofy, oblivious, immature, reckless, and an overall _boy_. You've changed so much since then."

He raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

"Well you're a daddy now, if that counts for anything. Pretty sure that's a big change. You're more mature and responsible than you were back then. You adore kids now. It's like you could be bad at everything else but you would still be an amazing father. And it's like you've gotten this new sense of purpose," she listed.

"I have a lot of new purposes. And I guess I better prepare for another because it's on its way," he said, plopping back on the bed and transforming back to Fenton.

She turned fully around and laid flat on his chest. He wrapped an arm around her and kissed the top of her head. She scooted herself up and went for his lips.

Suddenly something vibrated in his pants pocket. He pulled out his phone and held it out in front of him, stretching his arm around Sam.

It was a text message from Tucker.

_"U deserve watevr shes giving u..."_

He smiled and nearly laughed.

"Who's that?" Sam asked.

He shrugged and kissed her again. "It's just Tucker being Tucker."

_"I hav xepted my punishment."_

And before Tucker had time to reply...

_"DO NOT DISTURB. ;D"_

**A/N**

**Okay, guys. I don't think I have to spell it out for you, you all know what's going down. If you don't then let's just say Danny's not suffering right now. I was toying around with the idea of making Danny in even DEEPER waters than he was already in but then I'm like, just, no...don't.**

**A lot of you seemed to be siding with Danny because he was right, but Sam didn't just slap him randomly you know. Tensions were already running high with the both of them. Danny got so stressed he couldn't take it anymore and screamed at Sam, but he really crossed the line when he told (screamed it out to the whole school) Sam her dad was a jackass, no matter how true that may be. We all know she's been in denial for years now and Danny was already in trouble for a situation with her father...and then he went and did that... Is anyone still wondering why she slapped him?**

**I also figured that because she was so small compared to him, he would look a little scary when he did that. And before you say anything, she KNEW he wouldn't hurt her, but she was too upset to think straight. The rest of the day gave her time to calm down and sort her thoughts. This way, they made up much quicker than they normally would've. **

**No review quota today! :D It's my birthday! So I'm updating THREE STORIES today: Whatshisface, The Boy With the Rings, and Flowers Will Grow.  
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**Review replies:**

**_princessbinas_- I do actually bash Kikyo, but I also respect that some people have different opinions of each character. **

**_darkangeloflove15_- Updated. :)  
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**_ShadowDragon357_- Ooohhhhh. :P IRL, got it... Sounded kind of like URL, like a computer term, so...yeah... :/ Why would she avoid him for rejecting a kiss? And he didn't really even see that kiss coming, it wasn't even a kiss, more like an assault. It wasn't similar, actually. It might seem that way at first, but they're completely different: Sam kissed Danny ONLY as a challenge to her father, whereas Danny kissed Sam to make sure "the other guy" knew she was taken. Plus, he didn't kiss Sam on the lips, he kissed her neck and temple. Sam kissed him on the lips. Yeah, Danny didn't do a very good job explaining anything did he? XD**

**_sammansonrepilica_- I didn't. :P I would never betray DXS. It's just plain wrong.**

**_jim89_- Yeah, they're like two halves of a whole. That's why it was so painful and frustrating for Danny to deal with that kind of separation. Her extended family will be explained but since it's not a spoiler, they had no clue what happened and they're just visiting from out-of-state.**

**_Chloee0x0_- Thanks! :D**

**_beautifullove521_- It did. :) Updated!**

**_SuperGeorgia_- His words were right but his actions weren't. He only got half that down. :P He went about that the wrong way, could've been a little gentler or at least not bring it up until AFTER he was forgiven. Could you state the obvious? ^.^" I have a hard time keeping up with things and most things fly over my head. This is apparently one of them... **

**_puppets4ever_- It is but that's mainly because Sam is no longer troubled by her rape. Her fear and depression was an inhibition in FWB, and now that she's gotten over it, FWG has some elbow room. What do you mean when you say "stretching the characters"? Am I going too far? ^.^ AWWWW! I always love reading your reviews, you're so sweet!  
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**_Favorite Daughter Of Hades_- Indeed I did thanks to you! :D I was hoping someone would mention the jealousy scene. I had that idea and I had to get it down. Maybe I rushed it but I don't think it was too bad.**

**_Guest_- I'm a little stuck on Whatshisface right now but I'm trying. As for this, I wanted to update it on my birthday. :)**

**Don't forget to vote on the poll!**


	40. Chapter 40

~Chapter 40~

"You son of gun..." Tucker said as Danny sat down at their usual lunch table. "I can't believe you went straight from fighting worse than you've ever fought before to make-up sex. You're probably the only guy who would get away with that."

Danny shrugged. "She said I was right to do what I did, even the screaming part of it."

"She's pregnant. That might've been a mood swing."

"Nope. That was real. When Sam has a mood swing, she's fickle. She wasn't fickle yesterday, so it was real," he explained.

"Just don't screw up again today. I don't get to see Sam every day like you do and it would be nice if she could visit."

Danny opened his mouth to reply, but a person he recognized as Sam's cousin came to sit down with them.

"Hey," he greeted. "Did I just hear you guys say Sam is pregnant?"

Danny turned diagonally to face him. "I don't think I ever caught your name."

He grinned. "Sorry. We didn't get much of a chance to talk yesterday. I'm Cole."

The halfa held a hand out to shake his hand. "I'm-"

"Danny," Cole finished for him. "I've heard quite a bit about you from Sam."

"What...what did she say about me?" he asked.

Cole shrugged and answered, "She said you were overprotective and went into great detail about what you would do if you saw a roach in the house. She also said she and you had twins, which came as a huge shock. She also told me you two were getting married. Another big shock. And now I heard she's pregnant _again_."

"Yeah, she is."

"Is that why she snapped at you yesterday?"

Danny shook his head and replied, "No, that's not it. You probably overheard this when we were fighting, but Sam's parents kicked her out when they learned she was pregnant. That was three years ago. Her first pregnancy was nothing but a miserable mess. So many things could've been avoided if she had her parents there beside her... I knew how she felt about it so I set up a meeting with her dad behind her back and made her talk things out with him. It backfired severely and she gave me the cold shoulder for four days straight because of it. Finally, I got jealous and it annoyed Sam. _That_ was when she snapped."

"What about the rest of the story? At first it wasn't too bad but then you just kind of...blew up. Except you weren't talking about this meeting, you said something about her getting in trouble. I'm kind of confused now."

The halfa scratched the back of his neck and said, "Well, it's a long story, but Sam did some pretty stupid things while she was pregnant. Don't tell Sam I said that. It put both her and the twins in danger. What you heard me going on about was just that. All of those stupid things were things I tried to help her through. Back then she didn't give too much thought into doing something before doing it anyway and she gave no thought to the consequences of her actions. I tried my best, I really did, but unfortunately the damage is done and I can't undo any of that. She didn't care that I was trying to help her and at one point she convinced herself that I wanted her to be even more depressed than she already was. I did everything I could to help her through everything she did but she just didn't see that."

"What about when you said that thing about 'leave her where she was'?"

"Oh, that. Well, like I said, Sam's parents kicked her out. I was the one who took her in and we've been living together ever since. But she was also depressed, and I didn't want her to stay depressed. I could've left her where she was, all alone to suffer, but I didn't. It paid off in the long run."

Cole sat back and sighed.

It was only then that Danny looked behind him and noticed all the angry scowls pointed directly at himself. Clearly yesterday didn't sit very well with them and despite the fact that _they_ made Sam's school life completely miserable, they now hated _him_ for making her cry. He wanted to return their expressions but it was hard to do that when the major difference between his actions and theirs was that she was his fiance. He was sure someone over there had caught onto that by now because of the ring, but that just made this situation all the worse for him. They also thought Sam was still upset with him. They didn't have any right to be fuming at him but somehow it seemed like they did. And apparently they thought they did. To be fair, though, most of those students weren't there when Sam was still in school. They didn't know much about what happened, so of course they figured they had the right to be mad.

Come to think of it, since they had nothing to do with Sam's misery, and since they didn't contribute at all to her depression, they did sort of have that right. They probably thought he was the only one in the wrong here even if his intentions were good. The students in his grade, now they were another story entirely. They were probably what pushed Sam over the edge to the point of cutting. Their words and actions weighed heavily on her and as if she didn't have enough burdens to carry, they added their crap onto all of it. They were the students that needed to drop their scowls and realize what _they_ did before judging _him_.

It seemed a bit unjust to him that they would sit there staring in anger and disappointment, yet they never really cared about Sam to begin with. Tucker was allowed to do that, and he made sure to remind Danny of it. But these guys...they had zero interest before. Why was it that now was so different? The rest of yesterday and today, they were determined to make him feel like a jerk. They were failing since yesterday had turned out for the best, but they didn't know that and even now kept trying. It wasn't like he hadn't already gone through the 'I-feel-like-I-ripped-her-heart-out' stage. But in the end he really had done the right thing and Sam finally realized it, despite him beginning to doubt himself.

"Seriously, what gives them the right to be mad at _me_?" he snorted.

The statement was meant to be more for Tucker, but Cole was the one who answered in his place. "Probably because you sent Sam packing in tears."

Tucker threw in his own two cents with, "No, Danny's right. They were all _awful_ to Sam when she was pregnant the first time. Her life was hard enough as it was, but then they made things ten times worse and _laughed_ at it. What Danny did has nothing on what they did."

"One of the things they did was give her alcohol _knowing_ she was pregnant," Danny added. "I wouldn't be surprised if they're the reason she did most of those stupid things I was talking about earlier."

"What all did they do?" Cole asked.

Now glaring back at them, he answered, "Notes, rumors, harsh comments, smug looks... The list just goes on and on, it's ridiculous and heartbreaking at the same time."

"Yeah," Tucker added. "Some people kept saying she cheated on Danny even though they weren't even dating at the time!"

For a moment it was silent and neither of the two really knew why. It was Danny that realized Tucker's mistake and was quick to kick him in the shin, which also proved that Sam was starting to rub off on him.

"What is the _matter_ with you?!" he hissed.

"I'm sorry!" Tucker mouthed back.

"Wait, wait... If Sam was pregnant and you two weren't dating, then what exactly happened?" Cole asked.

He looked up for a second, fumbling around for the right excuse, or _any_ excuse so long as it was even remotely believable.

"D-Drunk. Sam and I went to a party and we decided to try some alcohol, you know just to see what it tasted like, and we thought it was good, so we kept drinking until we were both way too drunk to tell what was what, and uh, we ended up...you know...doing the deed, and Sam got pregnant from it, actually, so that's how everything turned out and all," he lied.

Cole just sighed and turned to Tucker. "What really happened?"

Unlike Danny's, Tucker's reply was almost immediate. "Friends with benefits. Danny was stupid and didn't use protection."

As much as he wanted to punch Tucker for calling him stupid and as much as he wanted to blush at the thought of being a beneficial friend, he couldn't help but feel grateful that the answer sounded a hundred times better than his own.

"Sam's strongly against premarital sex. She always has been, and she's too stubborn to change her mind about that. She would probably kick Danny between the legs just for suggesting the idea," her cousin said. "Can anyone please tell me the truth? She's my _cousin_, not some random stranger."

Crap. And what he said was completely true... Sam would _not_ like the idea of friends with benefits and she would _not_ hesitate to show him that. And she _was_ his family...but...

"Look, I'll be honest with you. Spiked drink," Tucker said, apparently not willing to give in yet.

"Doesn't party."

"Love. Powerful love."

"Against premarital sex."

"Look," Danny interjected. "We can't tell you. We promised Sam we wouldn't tell anyone without her permission. I know you're her family but I've already betrayed her trust once with that meeting, I'm not about to do it again."

"Are you the real father of the twins?" he asked, seeming to completely ignore what the halfa said.

Danny couldn't really say anything to answer or sidestep that question. Saying yes would require a followup explanation, which he didn't have. All his excuses had been used up and Tucker had taken the rest of the ideas. Saying no would result in growing suspicion on Cole's part and eventually he would start coming to conclusions. He was a member of Sam's family and knew Sam pretty well, so he would know that Sam wouldn't cheat on anyone. He also already knew that she wasn't dating anyone at the time she got pregnant. Staying silent like this was giving him all the answer he needed anyway.

"You're not, are you?" he continued.

He surrendered, knowing that Cole knew the answer anyway, and shook his head. "No. I'm not. I love the twins though. I think of them as my own. Sam got their last names changed to mine. On their birth certificates it says I'm the father. Legally they're mine, but in reality they're adopted. I may not share the same blood, but I'm the one they'll grow to see as their father and that's what counts."

"It's true," Tucker added. "He really does treat the twins like they're his own. He's wanted to help raise them since before they were even born and he was so excited about them that Sam named the boy after him. You can ask Sam if you don't believe us, he really does love those kids. And me too. I'm their charming, handsome, and charismatic Uncle Tucker."

Cole took a deep breath. "I do have one guess at what happened. I really hope I'm wrong about this, but...was she violated?"

This time both the boys look edgy and nervous. Neither one of them talked. They were both at a loss for words, especially since this was the first time anyone had guessed correctly. Danny's family loved her like a daughter but even they, unfortunately, guessed horribly wrong and said things he was sure they wished they hadn't. Sam's own father didn't have much of a reaction to that news.

"Violated as in raped?" Tucker asked, his tone not very convincing that it was a real question. What exactly did he hope to accomplish by asking that anyway? Cole's question was pretty clear as it was, he didn't need to repeat it.

"Tucker!" Danny growled, kicking his shin again.

This time he flinched and held his leg. "Look, we kept our promise, okay? If he figured it out on his own that's not our fault. We didn't tell him. We also have no more lies to cover this up. Face it, Danny, we came to a dead end."

Then, turning to Cole, he continued, "Yes, she was, but no one in the school knows that. At first Danny just said he was the father to protect her and keep her secret, but it didn't take long before he wanted to be a _real_ dad. As far as everyone at school knows, he's the real dad. And Sam wanted it to stay that way, so we promised her we wouldn't tell anyone. We've been keeping this a secret ever since we first found out."

"God, I wish I c-"

"You wish you could've been there to stop it," Danny interrupted. "That's what we said too."

Cole should just be glad he didn't find out the way he had. At least Cole wasn't the one who went to check on Sam thinking she was sick because she kept missing school only to have her cry into his shirt as she explained every last detail of what happened. Then he realized there was _nothing_ he could do that could take that pain away. Tucker knew how bad it had to feel, or at least got an idea of it. He'd seen Danny grow more and more protective of Sam as time went on. It made perfect sense that he would be so protective. Now there were children involved so that increased it but that was to be expected right? The girl he loved was raped, nearly had her throat slit, and raped again. Add to all that the students at Casper High and her parents kicking her out, and yes, you had a very depressed girl.

But Cole could never begin to imagine how much that hurt, to know he was helpless to take some of that off her. He tried and tried but even in the end, he only managed to distract her long enough for her to get rid of it herself. She shouldn't have had to feel like she was suffering alone. He was there beside her through it all, suffering in a different kind of way.

He wasn't even aware that Sam had come to visit and to his relief, was completely ignoring all the looks cast at her. Unlike with him, the looks at her were of sorrow and pity. As if Sam liked to be pitied...

She sat across from Cole, right next to Danny. It was another relief to the halfa to know that her forgiveness had lasted through the night and all the way to this point. And- Crap if she found out Cole knew her secret she would think it was his fault and...! If anything this was _Tucker's_ fault for letting her cousin know they weren't dating at the time she got pregnant!

He could only hope Cole wouldn't say anything...

She kissed him, making sure it lingered so everyone else would know to shut up and leave him alone. He wrapped an arm around her waist, giving them the same message.

She parted and whispered, "Are they mad at you for yesterday?"

"They've been mad at me _since_ yesterday," he murmured back.

"I'm the only one allowed to be mad at you."

"Thank you so much for that, dove," he said sarcastically. "I really appreciate that."

She shrugged and turned to her cousin. "Sorry about yesterday. Tensions were already running high between me and Danny, and things just got out of hand."

It was Cole's turn to shrug. "It escalated pretty fast, I'll say that much. But don't worry about it. My girlfriend and I recently had a fight. Some girl keeps flirting with me and she hates that, so when I tried talking to the girl saying I had a girlfriend and wasn't interested, she got the wrong idea and just...boom, blew up at me. We made up, but for some reason I was the one who had to apologize."

"That's just stupid," she said.

This coming from the girl who got jealous whenever Paulina came up to Danny... It was so obvious that he didn't feel her grab his shirt and look around him to glare daggers at Paulina. Yes, she was a horrible person, but her beauty was only skin deep. Even when Sam had confronted him about it...even when Sam had asked him directly if he still thought Paulina was attractive...he told her his thoughts on the matter. She still got jealous. He didn't know whether he was supposed to find that cute or tiresome. Either way he felt like the victim in all that.

"She's not always like that. It's just that one particular girl," he said.

Wow was this a similar situation... Hard to believe his Sam and Cole's girlfriend had that in common. It made him wonder if jealousy ran rampant in all girls.

"Glad I'm not like that," she said.

He rolled his eyes.

"So from that kiss I'm assuming you guys made up?" Cole said, probably about as much a question as it was a statement.

Before either of them could answer, Tucker decided to jump in.

"Oh they made up all right," he replied. "They made up _real_ good."

For a third time, Danny kicked his shin. "Really?!" he hissed.

Despite the pain, he smirked. The real translation of that text Danny sent him? 'Shut up so Sam and I can have sex.' Payback for that. He already knew they had sex but it wasn't like he wanted to be texting them in the middle of it! Why couldn't Danny have simply let him be blissfully unaware of what happened? He could've ignored the text entirely but no, of course not. Instead he got too relieved about being forgiven that he preferred to send one heck of an awkward reply. Or hey, he could've left it at part one, where he 'accepted his punishment'. Nope, he just had to go in and add that second 'do not disturb' as part two.

Cole ran and hand through his hair and let out a breath. "I didn't really need to know that."

Tucker cast a gloating look at Danny, one that said 'checkmate'. It was like he had been saving that for the perfect time, and what better time than this? Or for Danny and Sam, what _worse_ time than this?

Surprisingly Sam didn't get angry at him. She did give him a short stare, but it was emotionless.

"So, Sam..." Cole started. He hesitated at his next words and during that time of silence, both the boys froze in dread of what he was sure to say next. "Do you know who the real father of the twins is?"

Tucker's gloat turned into nervousness and he looked at Danny, who was still frozen stiff.

"Danny," she answered flatly, as if she didn't know what Cole was hinting at.

"No, I mean the biological father," he clarified. "I already know Danny just said he was the real father to keep your secret and I can respect what he did. I j-"

Sam quickly elbowed Danny in the ribcage and gave him a cold glare.

In turn he pointed towards Tucker. "His fault. I had nothing to do with it."

"What?! No! I didn't do anything, Danny did! He's the one who blew up yesterday!" the geek argued.

"No, seriously, he made Cole suspicious!"

"Yeah, but on accident!"

"He's the one who told him I'm not the father!"

"Cole figured it out himself!"

"Because of Tucker's lame excuses!"

"I tried! I swear, I tried to cover it up!"

"_I_ didn't have that many excuses though! I just said we got drunk!"

"And I said you two were friends with benefits! I gave a better reason than Danny did!"

Sam immediately put up her arms in an X, signaling a time-out, and turned to face Tucker, leaving Danny breathing a sigh of pure relief. He'd just gotten out of trouble, he wasn't about to get back in it.

"You said we were friends with benefits?" she growled. "I would've _murdered_ Danny if he even _thought_ of that!"

Good thing he didn't.

"I-I told you, I was only trying to help," he squeaked.

"Alright, Cole," she demanded, turning back to Cole. "What do you know?"

"In a nutshell, I know that you were violated and got pregnant because of it," he answered. "I was just wondering...are you okay after an ordeal like that?"

Seriously? Again? Why did it seem like everyone was so stupid? It had been a long time though... It had been a long time since she last talked about it, setting aside her dad. Cole was also very observant, which made him capable of figuring things out quickly. He listened, watched, and waited...all while having the patience of a saint. It wasn't that surprising that Cole figured this out on his own. He really only needed a hint or two and from there would ask many questions. Even if those questions were met with silence, he would know the answer. He could also tell a lie when it was thrown at him.

But still, he never really asked stupid questions or questions that had the obvious answer. She herself didn't know if, at this point in time, she could be qualified as 'okay' with it. Therefore his question actually didn't have a very obvious answer; on the flipside, it didn't have a vague one either. Back when she was pregnant with the twins, she was disgusted and was not, by any means, 'okay'. Back then she didn't care much for the twins, made horrible decisions, and constantly failed at moving forward in life. So there were some more events that smothered her, each one just another item on that list. So no, back then she wasn't okay. Even after the twins were born, she wasn't okay.

Come to think of it, even now, she wasn't exactly 'okay' with what happened. She preferred not to think about it but when she did, she began to feel herself drawing back, like she was inwardly trying to avoid the topic altogether but couldn't because it was _real_. It wasn't a dream or illusion, it actually happened. Despite how much better her life turned out to be, and despite the known fact that it was a blessing in disguise, she tried not to think about it for a reason. One of them, perhaps, was that she didn't want to go back to seeing the twins as adopted by Danny. She liked seeing Danny as the real father because he treated them no differently than he would treat this baby, as he had continuously proved and would continue to prove. Her life had ten times more meaning to it than it did before.

It was just that the inhibition she'd been trying to get rid of wouldn't go away. She needed Danny's safety at night or she would have nightmares. In those nightmares she basically went through the same thing. When she woke up Danny would wake with her and immediately try to calm her down. She still had a fear of the darkness because of what happened and she was a goth. She used to love the dark, night, and shadows. Now they seemed so threatening though. It was further proof that the trauma remained even to this day, three years since her rape.

The ordeal Cole was talking about had been just like her cutting spell. She had healed from it, but the scars were still there. She could hide them but they didn't simply disappear. No matter how hard she tried to forget what happened, she couldn't; especially not when people were finding out left and right. They asked the same questions each time, all of which had the same answers. But Cole's question, just because it came from him, made her think. If she was completely honest with herself, was she really okay?

If she had the chance to change what happened, she wouldn't change a thing. As much as she hated it, if she wasn't raped, the twins wouldn't be here and neither would this baby. She and Danny might not be together because in a rather odd twist of fate, that torture was what acted as the foundation for their relationship. It was literally what brought them together.

"Sam," Cole's voice said, bringing her out of her thoughts. "It's fine if you're not. I wouldn't expect you to be okay, no matter how much time passes."

"I'm okay," she replied.

She could say it all she wanted but every time she looked back at that incident, there was doubt and insecurity welling inside. Danny helped so much to help her contain that without letting it build up, but it was still there. A lot of things were still there that Danny didn't even know about. It wasn't because she didn't trust him, it was because she didn't know how to tell him. One day she would, if she could ever figure out how to, but for now he wouldn't know. And maybe it was for the better that he didn't. He was very sensitive when it came down to her or the twins. He would do anything for his family, so knowing he'd overlooked something even after all this time would kill him.

**A/N**

**_BEFORE ALL ELSE!_ Your time on the poll now is nearly GONE. After this chapter, the name of the baby/babies will be revealed and the poll will be closed. Unlike with all my other polls, this one is by far the shortest-lived one yet. That said, if you haven't cast your vote, then you have ONE LAST CHANCE.**

**Wow. Bad place to stop... :/ Cole has a reason for coming to Amity Park and if any of you are wondering, YES part of it is because he wants to see Sam. NO, he didn't know what happened because he wasn't even there. And now the fella finds out (or technically, thanks to Tucker, figures it out), so will he treat Sam any differently? Will he pity her and tiptoe around her? Try to be extra careful not to upset her?**

**I also thought this would be a good chapter because even I got the feeling that Sam still had a piece of her that couldn't get over the rape. I just thought this would be one way to dive into new depths about that because I know I haven't explained her emotions very well lately, especially those concerning being raped. I did a poor job of detailing what Sam was feeling when she confessed everything to her dad and that was just pathetic on my part.**

**Most of this was dialogue, but I wanted Cole to know everything (vaguely on some things, which is why he has no idea about what 'stupid things' Sam did while she was pregnant). I also wanted another ally for Sam, Danny, and Tucker in terms of school life. **

**This chapter was over 5,000 words long. Therefore, I'd really like to have a quota for this chapter: randomly selected (from a range, of course), it's five hundred fifty-two (552).**

**As always, replies:**

**_princessbinas_- lol I like Kagome's grandpa but I like Danny's reaction to pretty much everything his parents do better. I bash pairings more than I do characters. I could go on and on about the pairings but it's easier just to say, I prefer canon. A LOT.**

**_jim89_- Emotional enema... Okay then... Interesting analogy... It was what the relationship needed, which is one reason I put it in there. No, Sam acting nice will not earn Danny any brownie points with the rest of the school. As you can see. XD As for Sam's cousin, he's a pretty analytical guy (in case you can't tell from this chapter). He waits until he can understand the situation before judging or accusing anyone. And lastly, Dani and Valerie. They aren't shown much in the show itself, especially not Dani, who was only shown twice, so I don't plan on making them play an important role. I do plan on putting them in the story though. Just...not now. ;)**

**_darkangeloflove15_- Glad to hear that! I tried hard on that chapter. o_o**

**_beautifullove521_- Thanks! And updated! ;D**

**_puppets4ever_- Well, I tend to do better on the emotional detail. :P I use emotional detail to make up for the lack of physical detail. It seems to work just fine, so I stick to it. To be honest with you, I hated the swearing myself. I never swear and I don't even like to read swearing, but I wanted to use strong language to stress how Danny felt a little more. Awww, really? :D Updated!**

**_Favorite Daughter of Hades_- You'll see. :) Part of it was just because he wanted to see his cousin.**

**_ChaosShadow12_- Thank you, but I had a lot of help on the poem. Yes, it was long, but that there was Danny's proposal poem. Poor guy wanted to get it right. lol Did you really do what Sam did? **

**_SuperGeorgia_- He was, and that was what Sam finally came to realize. Thank you! And no, he is definitely not. XP And I hope you thought about poor Tucker with that message, because I don't think anyone would've taken very kindly to reading that on their phone.**

**Hey, little announcement sort of thing here. If any of you have a birthday in April, I will try to update on your birthday! ;D No making these things up though. I can't update every single day, I need time to write out these chapters. So anyone who has an April birthday, tell me! :)**


	41. Chapter 41

~Chapter 41~

"Woah!" a certain ghost biker shouted as he barely dodged a furious green ball of energy.

Johnny's bike, however, didn't escape the next one that came hurling his way. The back wheel was struck squarely in its middle and dragged a short way on the ground before swerving the entire motorcycle, tipping it and throwing Johnny off. He only had his shadow and it wasn't anywhere near enough to stop-

"PHANTOM, WAIT!" he cried.

Unfortunately for him, his calls were ignored and he was delivered an uppercut so powerful it sent him a good five feet in the air. He spat out two teeth and tried again.

"I only came-"

Danny balled his hands into fists and punched Johnny through an entire building, following him even through the rubble that broke apart and fell.

The biker propped himself up on one elbow and held a hand out, as though that would protect him.

"I swear, I didn't come by t-"

The halfa grabbed his the collar of his jacket and forcefully pressed him against the next building, the brick wall already beginning to crack from the amount of pressure being put on it.

Eyes glowing, Danny decided to show a little mercy and asked, "What are you doing here, 13? Did I not make it clear enough that I didn't want anybody near here? Because if I didn't I can certainly clarify for you."

"N-No!" he yelped. "I just want to ask a question but I couldn't find you anywhere else!"

"A question?"

"Yes! I swear, I only wanted to talk!"

He pressed Johnny further into the building, causing more cracks to form in the wall. "What _kind_ of question?"

"J-Just set me down, man! I don't want any trouble!"

"What's your precious question?" the halfa asked as he released Johnny.

The ghost slid down the wall and held and arm that appeared to have been injured somewhere along the one-sided fight. He hadn't _done_ anything.

And Danny knew that. These ghosts, though... These ghosts needed to learn their lesson about coming near the twins. Most of them wouldn't even think about _looking_ at them anymore. Whenever one thought he or she was brave enough, they turned out to prove themselves foolish and stupid. Word had to have reached far and wide in the ghost zone that these two particular kids were completely off-limits. They knew he would come and if he sensed them anywhere near the twins, he would become their worst nightmare in a split second. Seeing him so ruthless made them rethink their decisions to get in his bingo book.

"There are rumors going around about those kids," Johnny said. "Everyone sees it. You normally fight us and actually have mercy. But when it comes down to those kids, you change. You normally chase us away or suck us into that thermos during a regular fight, but you won't do that in fights like these. Even if we're not doing anything, if we're around those two little kids, you'll destroy us if we don't run. In fact, the only way to avoid that is to stay away from them."

"That's right," he said bluntly. "Now I suggest you get to the point before my patience runs out."

"My point is, you act like those kids are your life source. Why is it just them? You don't act this way around other kids," Johnny finished.

Danny simply stared and crossed his arms. He couldn't lie his way out of that one being as every last bit of it was true. He did act differently around the twins, but that was the extent of everyone's knowledge. They didn't know the twins were his. They didn't know Sam was pregnant again; though to be fair he'd protected her about as much as he protected the twins. They were too focused on him to see her swollen belly. **(A/N: I didn't quite know how to build up to this** **time skip but this chapter takes place almost four months later, which means Sam is now six months pregnant.)**

"I'm starting to think they're your kids. I mean, you're young, but it's possible," Johnny said.

"I am young. It is possible. But do they look half ghost to you?" he replied. "You've seen them before: brown hair, hazel eyes... Do I have brown hair? Hazel eyes?"

"It doesn't always matter what _you_ look like. It could depend on their mother or some other relative," the biker countered. "They might not even have ghost powers."

"Listen, 13," Danny growled, "I'll gladly lay my life on the line for these kids! Make sure everyone else knows that! Now my patience is thinning, get out of here unless you want to end up on death's doorstep again!"

Johnny didn't even go for his bike; he just ran, happy to still be here.

Danny didn't follow and only stood there in thought. If Johnny knew, Kitty knew. If Kitty knew, Spectra and Ember were also likely to know. The rumor was there, as Johnny told him, but how? Well...come to think of it, he spent so much time with the twins and he really did protect them at any and all costs. Unlike most battles, where he was sure his kids were well out of harm's way, he wouldn't try to obliterate them. But near his family, he put his entire being into those battles. He became merciless, ruthless, and unforgiving. None of the ghosts ever got away unscathed. Many of them had the scars to prove it. None of them fought back, they only fled.

That said, the rumor of the twins being his kids would spread easily, far and wide. Vlad, by now, would've probably heard these rumors. Although Danny had never confirmed it, he was sure his constant avoidance on the matter answered Johnny's question. But now that they knew for sure, they knew why they shouldn't be stupid enough to come near _his_ kids, _his_ unborn child, and _his_ soon-to-be wife...though the last two were a package deal since Sam was the one carrying that child.

Wait... The baby! Sam's appointment!

He rushed back to his house and phased through the wall to his room, transforming back to his human self and watching as Sam was just pulling on a new shirt. It was a larger size than the old maternity shirts.

"I'm so fat now..." she grumbled to him as she tugged on the hem to help smooth it out.

"You're pregnant, not fat. Huge difference," he said.

"I'm fat," she flatly replied.

"Well I think you look great."

"I swear, you're such a liar!" she huffed. "I can barely see my toes anymore, I can't get my shoes on, and I need help getting up after I sit down!"

"It won't be much longer, Sam," he reminded her.

"Yeah? Well when _your_ gut is used as a punching bag, _then_ tell me that," she countered.

He wrapped his arms around her, smiling as he felt the baby squirm around. "The baby's healthy and growing."

"I know that. It wakes me up in the middle of the night to tell me that," she mumbled. "If today wasn't a special day, I'd be so mad at you right now..."

He kissed the top of her head and rubbed his hand over her stomach, trying to keeping up with the baby's movements. She always went back and forth between fat and pregnant, ever since she got a baby bump. But because of the way her stomach looked, it was easy to see that she was pregnant, not fat. It made no difference to her and she added her steadily increasing weight to the equation, coming to the conclusion that she was both pregnant _and_ fat. He didn't see it that way. Nobody else saw it that way. In fact, everyone tried to convince her that she didn't look fat, but she refused to listen. Occasionally she blamed him for her weight, but that was only when she was moody enough.

His mom said it was normal and that she did the same thing to Jack when she was pregnant.

But today was too special and hormones or not, she couldn't bring herself to be angry. Today was the day they would finally be able to pick out a name for the baby. Today was the day they found out whether it was a boy or girl. It wasn't twins, which came as a huge relief to them both, but no matter the gender, this baby would have to be carefully monitored. If it had any of Danny's powers, disaster could fall.

"Your parents are busy. Tucker said he would watch the twins," she said as she pushed his hands off and tried to position her shirt in a way that wouldn't make her look as 'fat'.

Suddenly she threw her hands up in the air. "It's useless! Every single shirt is too tight!"

He sighed and took her hand, leading her to the car. The goth stayed hellbent on viewing herself as fat throughout the entire car ride, getting more and more frustrated with her shirt as time went on. It was a mood swing coupled with what he counted off as another symptom of pregnancy-one that she'd only shown very late into her first pregnancy-and a 'tight' maternity shirt. In reality it wasn't tight at all, but she didn't see it that way. And she wouldn't until her stomach completely flattened a few weeks after she gave birth. Until then, the shirt was tight and she was fat. Because obviously pregnancy had absolutely nothing to do with this.

He parked the car and prepared for that thirty-minute wait that always seemed to come with these appointments. Listening to Sam complain about her shirt, weight, and belly had taken away most of the excitement. He couldn't help but smile at the memory of her first ultrasound when she was pregnant with the twins. She hadn't been complaining about anything she was complaining about now, so the happiness never faded and his excitement only grew. He never did show it, but the thought of twins was definitely an experience.

It wasn't twins this time, it was one baby, and probably the biggest difference was that Sam wasn't held back by her past anymore, leaving plenty of time to spend focusing on girly things that she would normally never care too much about. If she wasn't pregnant, she wouldn't be saying anything about gaining a few pounds. Tight clothes? Not much of a problem unless they were _really_ tight. In fact, the only problem she ever had with her clothes was making sure the sleeves were long enough to hide her scars. She went to such great lengths to hide those scars that nobody, aside from himself of course, had ever seen them.

Now her constant frustration with herself was getting on his nerves and the excitement would only return once they actually got in the room. But for now he waited with her as she continued to fiddle around with her shirt.

He'd never told her that she was aggravating him by looking at herself like she was, or complaining about her weight all the time, but only because his mother told him this was normal. There wasn't anything he could do about 'normal' things during pregnancy, so he just dealt with it the way he dealt with her moodiness...go along with it, agree on a positive and disagree on a negative. That much wasn't anyone's advice but it worked wonders and cut the stress down to half of what it would be. He could only keep telling himself that once the baby was born, it would be all over. Her mood swings would go away, she would stop picking at him over every little thing he did, and she would stop pointing out how large her stomach was. _Yes_, it was large, and _yes_, it would get even larger! It didn't mean she was fat though! And that extra weight belonged to the baby! That was why the scale mistreated her!

Just more proof of how much he was dealing with... And her complaints weren't the worst part of it. Thanks to her mood swings, affection lasted all of five minutes before vanishing into thin air. Irritability took over and even the twins frustrated her. And according to Sam, he stressed her out far more than anyone else. Whether that was true or not, he didn't know, but his father told him that although Sam gave a whole new _meaning_ to mood swings, everything she was doing was completely normal. Knowing that made all the crap she threw at him _for the past six months_ bearable.

He felt horrible for saying that about Sam, but he had to face facts...when he had his head bit off every time she found one of his shoes untied, that was considered crap. And it wasn't just shoes! No, there were so many other things that could press her buttons. If she had the slightest tangle in her hair, it was the end of the world. He spent too much time fighting a ghost, he had to face the music. Paulina was so much as mentioned... He shuddered.

He tried to get out of it all. He loved her but there were times he just wanted to get loose. It was like she was putting a leash on him. She scolded him constantly and without his parents there to keep reminding him it was normal and would be over soon enough, he would go crazy! She was _trying_ to drive him up the wall!

"You look fine," he repeated as she continued to berate the God-awful maternity shirt.

"Your gut is not expanding!" she hissed. "You have no idea what this is like for me!"

And she had no idea what this was like for him.

"And let me guess, that shirt will trigger Armageddon?" he drawled.

"Armageddon for my brain!"

"It's _fine_, Sam," he sighed.

"God I have to pee..." she growled to herself.

At least the shirt was off the hook now...

"You know what they said about that," he reminded her. "Can't go until after the ultrasound."

"Then they better hurry!"

He ran a hand through his hair. Just go with it...that was what he'd learned to do. Didn't always work, but it was the only shot he had at times like these.

"Samantha Manson," the lady at the counter called out.

FINALLY.

He followed Sam through the hall and into the room they were guided to. It was just as small as with the twins but thankfully, had enough room for him to be in there. The excitement was, at last, coming back. Sam's complaints were forgotten...for the moment.

The technician pulled Sam's shirt up, which was a nice way of rubbing salt on the wound considering how long he'd had to endure her hating that shirt, and as she did with all her ultrasounds, squirted cold blue gel onto Sam's stomach.

Danny didn't pay much more attention to anything else when the screen in the top corner of the room flickered to life. As usual, there was no immediate movement. To anyone who _didn't_ know what was going on, it would cause mental panic, but in actuality she was only looking for the baby. He didn't understand why it always took a whole minute to look around inside such a confined space, over half of it taken up by the baby.

But finally, the lump that kicked the screen. Nicely done, too. It knocked the technician off for a bit but she quickly found it again. Unfortunately, not nice enough.

Danny smiled at the thought that the baby could turn out to be just as stubborn as he was, as long as he or she didn't hurt themselves. If it was a boy it could turn out to be a mini Danny, hopefully without the puniness he used to have. And if it was a girl, he hoped dearly that she wouldn't become another Sam. He already had two and two was more than enough. Hopefully, either gender, it would eat meat and not go on a vegan diet.

"Well, I can't say this is an easy baby..." the technician mumbled. "It keeps turning around."

This had to be the most amusing ultrasound ever. Even unborn this little one was showing its clear disposition. It was being defiant, _just_ like Sam... Another miniature Sam! Please no! No! Not another one!

It turned again.

Aw... It was so cute though... Adorable lil' baby...

Finally, it stopped, and the technician took the chance to pinpoint it.

"Baby girl!" she declared after a short moment.

"A very _energetic_ baby girl," Sam added.

He tried to look calm, but the smile on his face was proof enough that he was ready to jump ten feet in the air. And he could, if he wanted. And he did want to so, _so_ bad. He would have to wait until he was outside to suffocate Sam with the same bear hug he used on her when he found out the genders of the twins. He knew she was expecting that; she was eying him very carefully, _waiting_ for him to do something most guys wouldn't do.

"Well, congratulations, you two," she said, her voice soft and cheerful.

She handed Sam a hand towel and the goth didn't hesitate to wipe off the blueish goop.

"Sam!" he cried. "We need to think of n-"

"No, we _need_ to let me use the bathroom!" she retorted.

The technician stood up and moved clear out of the way, leaving an open path for her.

"Mood swings?" she asked.

He nodded. "Worst I've ever seen."

She just laughed and patted him on the shoulder. "Hang in there."

"Trying," he said as he left, 'following' Sam.

* * *

><p>Danny burst through the door, throwing his fists up in the air.<p>

"IT'S A GIRL!" he squealed. "IT'S A BABY GIRL!"

Tucker sighed as he got up from playing a puzzle with the twins.

"And you'll be this hyper for _how_ long before it doubles in a few months?" he deadpanned.

He smirked in response. "Hey, you'll get to be an uncle all over again."

Sam pushed her way through the door and flopped onto the couch. Danny's parents and Jazz were out so she was outnumbered by the boys. Junior was fine since he was three. Plus it probably helped that he was her own child, but Danny and Tucker? Augh. BOYS. And Danny, he was so childish! He was like a third _kid_ when he got like this! All he did after an ultrasound was brag about the baby to Tucker, Jazz, Maddie, and Jack. It could last for _hours_ depending on how excited he got, and this time they just found out they were having a girl. It was cute to everyone who didn't have to deal with it. On top of that his excitement was exhausting. With someone else watching the twins, she was free to take naps, but that was hard to do when a baby was up and about _inside_ her.

Besides...they'd already made a list of names. Danny would most likely go through a thousand girl names until he settled back on the list. They were both leaning towards a mere four names but had yet to decide on just one. Tucker had been asked to help with it but he was also being tugged around. Jazz was the same way. His parents? They went way past the list, suggesting a hundred more names. Cole had helped pick out the third and fourth names but couldn't decide which he liked best. For now it was a standstill; nobody knew what they wanted.

"Hey, guys?" Tucker said, taking the opportunity to break Danny's gloating.

He'd done the same thing with the twins, too. And once it was nearing her due date, he went into overdrive. He took so much pride in his family and that was what made him a wonderful father...but...he could stand to be a little less irritating when it came to things like this.

"Hm?" she mumbled into a couch cushion, listening less to Tucker and more to the sound of the twins putting together their puzzle. It was almost funny, how fascinated they were.

"So...I know Danny beats the undead crap-"

"TUCKER!" she hissed, pointing to the twins. "We have little tape recorders here!"

"Right. Sorry. Danny doesn't like it when meanies come anywhere near those kids, but Johnny 13 came by earlier while you two were gone asking me a bunch of questions. He asked if they were Danny's kids and if that was why he was so protective of them. He also said he has no intention of hurting them. He asked me to tell you that he and Kitty think they're cute and just want to see them."

She heard Danny growl but didn't blame him; she had a snarl on her face as well.

"What did you tell him?" she muttered through the fabric of the cushion.

"He didn't come in the house and I had my Fenton wrist ray on, so he didn't see the kids, but I told him to talk to Danny about that. I also wished him good luck because with all these other ghosts around..." The geek hesitated for a moment. "M-Maybe it's better if we have another ally. Johnny and Kitty aren't bad choices. They can keep us updated on ghost activity, and they can help protect the twins."

Danny snorted. "Protect the twins?! I can do _half_ of what they can do tenfold!"

She didn't need to see it to know Tucker was preparing to defend himself.

"No, no! I'm not saying you can't protect them, we all know you can and you've done an excellent job of it. But if something happens where no one can be there, we could really use all the help we can get. The more people we have on our side, the less chances of the kids getting into trouble. Plus, most of these ghosts are scared stiff of you. It makes sense that they would want to get on your good side, right? And what better way to do that than helping you with your kids?" he explained.

"I don't care! They're scared of me for a reason and I intend to keep it that way!"

"I'm just saying you might want to consider his offer. He came alone, completely unarmed, didn't even have his shadow with him. He did know you weren't home though, and that's why he came when he did. Just think about this for a minute before you go have a coronary, okay?"

"No! It's _your_ turn to think!" he returned. "If I'm letting ghosts near my kids willy-nilly, Vlad will catch wind of it and he'll do something about it."

"And you'll have a lot of other allies to help you. You _know_ Vlad's a handful, even for you! And now you're about have a third baby, don't you think you need all the help you can get? If this one had ghost powers, you're the only one who can train her. It took you forever just to get a grip on your own powers, so how long do you think it'll take to help your daughter get a grip on hers? While you're training her to control powers that might make people think of her as a freak, you could have a lot of others willing to help protect the twins. All they'll want in return is _mercy_. Do you understand now? If they lay a finger on any of your kids, they'll be _pulverized_. Does that sound like something they'd want?"

"I am _not_-!"

"Think about it!" the goth groaned. "Tucker's right. It's getting hard for me, okay? Especially with me being pregnant, I mean... I am _waddling_ now! I'm like a freaking penguin! My ankles get swollen, my weight has skyrocketed, and I'm already exhausted from pregnancy alone, then I need to keep up with Lilith and Junior. I'm open to Tucker's idea, I think we need to take up Johnny's offer. Help would be lovely right now."

"How can we trust him?" Danny countered. "How do I know he won't hurt the twins?"

"It's not just you, Danny! Tucker is _right_! You're not here all the time! Your parents go after Casper High's new ghost mascot all the time now, Jazz is busy in college, and Tucker's got his own job! I'm left alone with the twins all day! I can't simply go get a bazooka from the lab, you know!" She sat up and sighed. "I'm six months pregnant, Danny, I can't do the things I used to... And when I'm _heavily_ pregnant, like eight or nine months, how can you trust _me_ to fight off any ghosts?"

He frowned.

"I won't be able to," she finished. "My weight would slow me down too much."

"But Johnny and Kitty can," Tucker added. "Kitty's light and agile. Johnny's street savvy and has a shadow that can break pretty much anything. Plus, Kitty's a girl, she can relate to Sam a lot more than we can."

This time he bit his lip. It wasn't what Tucker said that got to him, it was what Sam said. She had just as much say in this as he did, probably even more. She was pregnant and sometimes she was left alone for a long time. She could still care for the twins, that wasn't a problem, but if a ghost came into the picture and he wasn't there in time... He would be devastated if anything happened to Sam and the twins. It was the last thing he wanted.

At the same time, Johnny and Kitty were ghosts he'd fought time and time again. They were so stupid, coming near the twins all those times... Or...were they doing it for a different reason...? If what Johnny told Tucker was true, then they weren't looking to hurt the twins. But he never gave them the chance to explain anything because when his kids were involved, he shot first and asked questions never.

"I'll _talk_ to them..." the halfa decided. "But if either of them gives me _one_ reason to think they might hurt the twins, they're dea-"

"Tape recorders!" Sam shouted, cutting him off.

He took a breath and corrected, "They're going away."

**A/N**

**HAPPY BIRTHDAY! :D Now, I know I said April birthdays in the last chapter, but I only said that because it was the end of March and I didn't figure anyone had any March birthdays. But today is TripleAAA1183's birthday! I made this chapter over 5,000 words long. Hope you enjoyed it!**

**Baby name poll? Closed. I already know the name, and believe me, one of the girls names has won by a LOT. Works out in my favor because I was really wanting that name anyway. :) Oh, and I have a question for you all. Did any of you vote for Jade/Hazel (which had been tied for most of the voting period) because of Danny's "girly green" eyes? :P And if so, did you think I wouldn't catch on to that? Oh, and Seth was the most popular boy name. :3 But the previous poll, the one that revealed the gender, said that the baby was to be a girl. You guys were trying to kill Danny. I know you were.**

**Review quota is five hundred sixty-one (561).**

**REALLY hoping that's not too much to ask here... :S Lately the reviews have dropped dramatically, from approx. 15 rpc to 7 rpc. :'( Drive to write is also starting to drop, which was the reason I started doing quotas in the first place.**

**Reply time!**

**_darkangeloflove15_- It's not the first time Tucker's been a moron. And he HAS ruined moments in the show, too, not just this story. :P**

**_princessbinas_- Ah. Legend of Korra. I've never seen it and from what I've heard about it, I don't plan to. My favorite pairing is DXS hands down. ^o^ And I have an autograph from Grey Delisle (voice actress of Sam) that says that too! Says I'm "the ultimate DXS shipper". **

**_jim89_- Cole will gradually be explained. If you've read The Danny Plan, he's not at all unlike Jesse (except he's Sam's cousin, not her friend). Paulina will also make a reappearance, but for now she and the rest of the Mosquitoes have been cast aside. Ah. I see you've read Reflections. XD Valerie is considered an enemy by Sam because she still hunts Danny Phantom. But don't worry, every main character in the show will appear in the story at one point or another. ;) Even Clockwork. Got a very special role for him.**

**_Chloee0x0_- Then expect the next update to come April 23rd. :D**

**_ShadowDragon357_- The episode with Elliot is called Double Cross My Heart, and yes, it did happen. Every single DP episode (excluding Phantom Planet) has happened, which is one reason everyone was a year older in FWB. **

**_sammansonrepilica_- I'm on the same boat as you. XD DXS prevails FOREVER! If I broke them up my fingers would pop off and run away on me. They don't like it when DXS is disturbed... O_O**

**_Favorite Daughter Of Hades_- :) Hope you liked this update! **

**_SuperGeorgia_- Really? I don't think I did. I mean, I showed physical detail, but I just showed you the tip of the ice burg. I wanted to get deeper into her psyche. I liked that too. Sorry, but they don't count. For one, I can't write 3,000+ wpc every single day; secondly, unless they review I can't do anything. I'm trying to write much longer chapters for peoples' birthdays. :/ So far I have one person down, one more to go. They're timed just right, too. April 9th and April 23rd. That's 14 days apart, giving me plenty of time to write out TWO more chapters for FWG and maybe some extra time for TBWtR and Whatshisface. So I'm sorry but they don't count.**


	42. Chapter 42

~Chapter 42~

"You're not going into the house," Danny said as he floated in front of Johnny and Kitty. "Or near those kids. Not unless I decide you can."

The couple were perched on the edge of a rooftop overlooking the city. Danny tried to look calm but it was clear that he was uncomfortable with them being so close to the twins. Johnny was clutching the handles of his newly fixed motorcycle so hard that his knuckles were turning pure white. Kitty had her arms around her boyfriend and leaned into him just in case things got violent and Johnny decided to hightail it.

"We only want to talk to you," Kitty said, peering over the biker's shoulder. "We really don't mean any harm."

"Johnny. Your shadow," the halfa flatly demanded.

Johnny snapped his fingers and his shadow rose to serve him. It disappeared somewhere when Johnny pointed his finger over to the side.

"Off the bike. Now."

This time there was slight hesitation, but they obeyed and stepped away from the motorcycle.

"Now we can talk. What is it you were wanting to talk about, exactly?" Because it wasn't obvious that he already knew. Still, he wanted to hear how Johnny and Kitty would approach this. And he was making sure they knew that they had only one chance to make the perfect first impression. And it couldn't be ninety-nine percent, it had to be _perfect_, without a single margin of error.

Johnny took a deep breath and took a small, timid step forward. "W-We think that those kids could use a little extra help. We tried to tell you that several times but each time we even looked at them you chased us off. Each time was a pretty painful escape but we kept trying to tell you, we don't want to hurt those kids."

"Yeah," Kitty agreed. "There are so many rumors going around in the ghost zone about them. Most ghosts stay away, but some are still in there that keep saying they can take you on. But they're not stupid. They won't come straight to you and try to fight. They figure that if they can get to those kids, they've beaten you. Then they can brag about their strength to everyone else."

Danny's eyes narrowed. "You're saying they're in danger?"

"Yeah, and a lot of it. Some of the other ghosts are getting convinced that by attacking the kids, they've won a battle no one else could win," Johnny answered. "They think everyone will respect them."

No. _Nothing_ happened to his kids unless he himself was dead first.

"And it's only going to get worse. We were trying to warn you about these ghosts; they're nuts if they think they can do this!" Kitty added.

He pointed an accusing finger at them. "If you think they can do any damage you're gravely mistaken! When they come, I'll-"

"They're already here," Johnny interrupted.

What?!

"They're testing their limits. Each day they get a little closer to those kids and eventually they'll try something. You haven't sensed them yet because they're still too far away," Kitty said.

"And if they decide it's easier just to attack you in a mass, they'll start wanting to take those kids down themselves. The problem is, only one of them will want to get all that 'respect', so they would probably fight over it. Those kids would get caught up in all that fighting and then it would be too late to do anything," Johnny explained.

"How many of these ghosts are there?" he asked.

The two looked at each other and shook their heads, shrugging and exchanging silent stares.

"We don't know. There's too many to count. We don't know how many of them are out here or still in the ghost zone but we know there's a lot," Kitty answered.

"I can handle every one of them if they're that stupid..." he growled.

"And if you can't?" Kitty murmured.

Couldn't?! Couldn't _what_, protect his own _children_?!

He was about to go off, have a 'coronary', as Tucker so kindly put it, but Sam's words echoed in his mind. She was the one left with the twins for hours on end. Under normal circumstances, she could just grab a weapon and go. In fact, she could hide the twins _while_ she got that weapon. But these were no longer normal circumstances. Thanks to her pregnancy, and considering she was entering her third trimester, she was becoming slow and exhausted. Half the time she wanted nothing more than to sleep the day away. She wasn't like that with the twins, which concerned him all the more, but when she was pregnant with the twins, she didn't have two other children to look after. And him? He couldn't really help. Now that Tucker had a job and was trying to raise money for college, he had gone back to the superhero life. And now that they mentioned it, ghosts had been appearing by the dozens lately. He was kept busy for most of the day dealing with these ghosts. Most of them were ones he'd never encountered before. Some of them were animalistic. His more common enemies, setting aside Vlad and Walker, stayed away from 'those kids'.

But it was Sam's condition that worried him most. She would soon become physically incapable of taking action should something happen. Tucker didn't have a ghost sense; he wouldn't know. Jazz was always so busy now and tried to find time for the twins, but hardly could. His parents...well... They were still obsessive over ghosts and anything having to do with ghosts, so running out the door to net an innocent mascot, costume, or whatever else definitely wasn't past them.

Sam also agreed with Tucker on this. They both thought that now, with a newborn on the way and with Sam so weakened by her pregnancy, help was very necessary. Any other time he would do this himself but things were getting tough and he had to admit to himself that _maybe_ Tucker had a point. And yes, he was stubborn and overprotective. But who wouldn't be? These weren't the frogs Sam worked so hard to save, these were his kids. From the moment they were born he despised the thought of a ghost being around them, even if that ghost was friendly. The only ghost that he _might_ be able to tolerate_ to an extent_ would have to be Clockwork, but that was _it_.

But now things were different and help had just showed up on two silver platters. He had a choice: either accept it or decline it. He wanted to decline it, and would've without a second thought, but he had to think about Sam and the twins. They came first and if Sam hadn't said what she had, these two fools would discover the real meaning of regret.

"The rumors about those kids being mine are true. They don't have any of my looks, human or ghost, and they don't have any ghost powers whatsoever...because...technically speaking...they're adopted. And Sam, well, she's sort of pregnant again. This baby, however, could have ghost powers," he explained, deciding it was easier if he could go ahead and get the basics out of the way. "I think that this is why she's always so tired, and it's because she's so tired that she can't really protect herself anymore. Not like she used to anyway. If she was alone with the twins and one of those ghosts you were talking about came by, she probably wouldn't be able to do a thing about it. So I'll..." Still couldn't believe he was saying this. "I'll let you see them..."

"You will?" Johnny asked, his tone unsure but a smile tugging at his lips nonetheless.

He sighed and nodded. "But understand that I'm only doing this for Sam; she needs the protection. You make the _tiniest_ of mistakes and you'll wish you never even _existed_. Got it?"

They both nodded.

"Just keep in mind that these are my _kids_, I _love_ them, and ghost or not I'll kill _anyone_ who tries to touch a single hair on their heads!" he snapped.

Johnny held his hands up in defense. "Don't worry. We never wanted to hurt them in the first place, remember?"

He had to admit, they had done a good job of explaining themselves. They got serious brownie points for telling him what was really happening in the ghost zone and why it was happening. He couldn't say he wasn't infuriated by the thought that 'help' was 'needed', but he was sensible enough to know that there might come a time when he alone just wasn't enough. And Sam agreeing so much with Tucker just raised that awareness. He hated it-absolutely _hated_ it-but if this was what his family needed then he would accept it. Barely.

He inwardly groaned and with that groan, realized that he was still scowling at them. At least it proved to them that in no way did he want this, but it proved to himself that he had to deal with it for the time being. It was for the better if he had allies he could count on and Johnny and Kitty? Well, it was a start. They ranked right above the box ghost in terms of danger.

He sighed. "Come on."

He turned the other way and flew back to his house, much more slowly and cautiously than when he'd left it. He heard Johnny's bike start up and knew he was right behind. Every instinct in him told him to shoot him down right then and there, but he forced himself to go against them and led Johnny and Kitty back to his house...back to his family.

He landed on the porch, transformed back to Fenton, and watched nervously as the biker and his girlfriend got off the motorcycle. Tucker was still inside. Sam and the twins were with him. His parents were still out...they weren't home...

He opened the door to find Uncle Tucker playing with barbie dolls in tutus, with Junior fixated on Lilith's own half-clothed barbie. Sam hadn't moved an inch; she was still on the couch. This time she was knocked out despite it only being afternoon.

Junior shot up when Danny walked through the door, running to him and grabbing his leg. Lilith remained with Uncle Tucker, determined to pretend that the doll was practicing for a dance recital. He picked Junior up and reluctantly let Johnny and Kitty inside. This was when the little boy grew shy and buried his face into his father's shoulder.

Tucker looked out of the corner of his eye but continued to keep Lilith busy.

"They're adorable!" Kitty softly squealed, taking note of a sleeping pregnant woman on the couch. "How old are they?"

The halfa sighed again and said, "They're three. Lilith is over there playing with her dolls and Junior is trying to hide in my shoulder."

"Junior as in Danny Junior?" Johnny asked.

"Yeah," Danny answered. "We just call him Junior though."

"Aw...that's so sweet!" Kitty giggled.

He set Junior down behind the couch, where he usually liked to hide until he was ready to say hi, and stood back up.

"Now you know why I'm so protective of them," he mumbled. "They're my little babies. As a father you do everything you can to protect your family."

Tucker could be heard snickering in the background. "_Just_ protective? Try ridiculously _overprotective_."

"I'm not overprotective! I'm just the right amount of protective!" he combated.

Besides, he just found out a ghost army was being formed to kill the twins. As if he would let that happen. Didn't they hear _anything_ from every other ghost that dared to come near the twins and gotten the whole nine yards of agony because of it? Didn't they think there was a reason most ghosts fled whenever they saw the twins? Or were they really just that stupid? If they had strength then they could prove it...but they'd get the world's most painful beating and serve years of humiliation in the ghost zone. And if they ever came back they would die, but for good this time.

They still had time to be on their way and turn back before things got ugly, but if they must, then let them come and prove themselves to be arrogant fools.

Because nothing-absolutely _nothing_-would happen to his family. They would have to take him down first to have any hope of getting to his kids. By now everyone in the ghost should know he'd protect them down to his dying breaths. Tucker could call that overprotective all he wanted, but Lilith and Junior were safe that way. And once his new daughter was born, that 'overprotectiveness' would sharply increase. Even Vlad would know to stay away; he wouldn't have a chance of winning a fight like that. His 'little badger' would make sure he suffered the bloodiest, most painful death ever recorded.

But if Kitty and/or Johnny laid one single hand on the twins they would suffer the same fate. Well, unless they had to, such as if they were moving them out of danger. That would be different since they would have to touch them. That could be forgiven, but anything else, no. And Sam! They'd better not touch her either! And when the baby was born, no! Everyone was completely off-limits unless it was necessary to touch any of them. He would make sure they knew that, even though they probably already did.

And maybe, just maybe, Tucker was right about them wanting to get on his good side...assuming he actually had one towards ghosts anymore.

"So, Johnny, Kitty," Tucker started. "I'm pretty sure Danny acted cold toward you when he was talking, or fighting, or whatever he was doing, but it'll take some time for him to trust you. I-"

"I don't trust them!" Danny shrieked, unaware that he'd woken Sam.

The geek sighed. "Assuming he will trust you..."

"He will," Sam murmured. "He _better_."

Crap. She was awake now.

"I-I mean, yeah, maybe. In time. Maybe," he 'corrected'. No, he wouldn't, not at all, not in a million freaking years.

"No, you will trust them. You have to-"

"Why?!"

"BECAUSE I SAID SO!"

Just go along with it...

"Okay...okay..." he muttered. "I'll give them a chance to prove themselves..."

She grunted. "Mmm-hmm. Because they're so very eager to suffer the wrath of a mother if they don't."

She would have a point, if she weren't pregnant. But God knows she had the moodiness to tell someone off _bad_. He'd discovered that himself. The hard way. The embarrassing way. The 'I-never-want-to-go-through-that-again' way.

At this point, he decided it was best not to tell her about the danger she and the twins were in. He could protect them. He _would_ protect them. And if Johnny and Kitty wanted to keep _existing_, they would too. That was how they could prove themselves, to be just as willing as he was to fight anyone to keep his kids safe. He'd fought government agents-and a heck of a lot of them-just to get back home. He'd fought more ghosts than he could count to instill extreme fear in everyone who had even _seen_ the twins. And it worked, too, otherwise Johnny and Kitty wouldn't be acting so submissive. Even Kitty. Kitty may be a girl but he'd fought her just as he would a male ghost...no holding back whatsoever.

Every ghost had every reason to be scared of him. They now had every reason to get out of his bingo book and into his good books. Unfortunately for them, even humans had a hard time getting into his good books, so ghosts? Ohohoho, _very_ hard. It was only because of Sam that he would tolerate these two, but any other ghost was unwelcome and unless Kitty and Johnny were willing to help fight them off, even if they were the best of friends, they were not trustworthy and he wouldn't hesitate to attack them...and they knew it.

So unless they wanted his wrath-his physical wrath since Sam had the verbal wrath covered _very_ well-they'd better get cracking on doing everything they could to make themselves useful, even if it was something as small as doing household chores. They weren't allowed to do what Tucker was doing though. They weren't allowed to play with the twins or help them learn to count to twenty-five.

He was very proud of them though. They were learning so well and for toddlers, being able to count so high was pretty darn good. Of course his pride would contribute to being 'overprotective' to Tucker. Pfft, he wasn't a daddy, he wouldn't know.

Although he did act a lot like a dad when he babysat. Danny hoped that when he got married, he would have a kid and treat them like he did the twins. Because...he was playing with barbie dolls and he didn't care who saw. That was a mark of a true father. Earlier he had been helping out with a puzzle with a picture of a smiling cartoon dog. It was thirty pieces but Tucker didn't mind at all. It helped the twins learn. He'd most likely read children's books while Danny and Sam were gone. And for Junior he'd probably played with toy cars.

He did a lot to keep them busy and tried to help them learn. He would make a great father too, although right now he probably didn't know it. He would understand one day, what it was like to be an actual dad and not a babysitter and uncle. You just didn't know perfection until you held your child in your arms, promising yourself that you would rather die than let anything happen to them. You never knew love until your baby grabbed your finger for the first time, and you felt that soft little hand. You didn't know happiness until you saw the baby's eyes open for the first time and look at you, and you couldn't help it if you shed tears over it. And you didn't know life until you were raising one.

**A/N**

**D'awwwww! I was almost crying when I wrote that last part! I could see Danny thinking that way. :3 If that didn't make you smile I don't know what will. And sorry for any misspellings or grammar errors. We found out the reason behind my double vision and dizziness: I now have a problem with my blood sugar.**

**Anyway, I tried to make this cute not just for the sake of the story, but...because we have another birthday! :D Happy Birthday to _Favorite Daughter of Hades_! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

**OH OH OH! And next chapter (or the one after), you'll find out the baby's name. ;D**

**Review quota is five hundred seventy-three (573) because this chapter was really hard on me with hardly being able to see the keyboard and computer screen.**

**Replies (again sorry for any writing errors; still can't see right):**

**_darkangloflove15_- He really is! :) He did let them help but VERY reluctantly, and if it werent for Sam he never would've done it. Well, the poor guy held in his excitement during the ultrasound so he had to let it out sometime! :P Tucker got to be the victim.**

**_ShadowDragon357_- He will, and does...but he's subject to pretty much all of it and it's driving him mad. I figured that Danny really would need help because if his daughter has even a single one if his powers, then he would need to help her get it under control and that would take a little time. He would have to keep her away from everyone else and take her somewhere secluded, so during that time he can't be there if a ghost attacks. I also figured Johnny and Kitty would be the most likely to help him in the show, so I incorperated my own opinion into the story. They're very good choices, all the friendly ghosts, but all ghosts have become a threat in his eyes. I mean, he only wants to protect his family and he'll do whatever it takes to do just that. Thank you! I don't ship any other pairing, especially not pompous pep and pitch pearl. Gross.**

**_Favorite Daughter of Hades_- XD You killed me there! Thank you! Happy Birthday! Hope you liked this update. :D**

**_puppets4ever_- Awww! Thank you so much! Well keep in mind, Danny did NOT want this, so you can count on him trying to find any little thing they do and use it as an excuse to get rid of them. I always found them the weaker villains (other than the Box Ghost), but also the ones more likely to help since they more often than not compete with dialogue. They don't fight him nearly as much as any of the other ghosts.**

**_princessbinas_- Don't know who Tenzin is but I'll try watching it sometime. I do good just keeping up with my stories! I don't have as much time as I'd like to.**

**_jim89- I_ told you, Danielle will make an appearance but now right now. Valerie is not considered a friend in Sam's eyes/ It's not from jealously (now that she engaged to Danny), it's because of the grudge she holds against Valerie from trying to destroy Danny. I don't think she considers Sam good friends, but I do agree with her considering Danny a friend, and maybe Tucker. Still, it's up to Sam, not Danny, so whatever Sam says, goes. Danny doesn't view Valerie the way he views the rest of the school, but yes, since Sam doesn't like her, Danny won't do anything about it and neither will Tucker. In some situations Sam is in charge, and in others, Danny is in charge. Valerie is one of Sam's situations. The 'dragon princess' is Dora, and while she has followers, Danny trusts no one, which is exactly why he had a hard time allowing Johnny and Kitty near the twins. It's only because Sam had explained to him that things were getting hard that he tolerates them, but still despises the idea. And he will continue to despise it for a good amount of time.**

**_sammansonrepilica_- I geez, I hate making them fight, but all couples do it. I don't make them fight over little things because they can work things out easily, but with the big things, they'll fight. Sam and her father was HUGE and Danny just wanted her to forgive him, which made tension run very high, which ultimately led to him exploding. That was when the fight reached its peak, but that was also what it took for Sam to realize exactly what he's done for her and calm down. She never gave any thought to how _he_ was feeling because once they got together, it was like everything got better; she also suffered a very traumatic incident that led to many things she now regrets, so she'd spent most of that time trying to come to terms with it and was too focused on her own problems to realize that Danny was doing everything to help her. So that fight lasted for some while.**

**_beautifullove521_- :D You do? Thanks!**

**_weird-o152_- Thanks so much! And I'll try but as of now I have one upcoming birthday on the 23rd and yours is the 25th... I may have to update on the 24th to compensate for both, is that okay?**

**_Stewiacker_- A lot of people voted for Hazel and Jade, but in the end that took a quick turn and the tie was broken. That's why the poll is closed. You didn't find out the name, but the decision has been made.**

**_LuvPeaceCandy_- This is actually the sequel to Flowers Will Bloom. Originally the summary had "Sequel to Flowers Will Bloom." at the very beginning, but now I see that this story can be understood even if people don't read FWB, so I modified the summary, took some stuff out. It also used to have "T mainly for references of Flowers Will Bloom." Well, now it's T for other reasons. :P Thanks for all those compliments! I really try hard on this thing.**

**_TheNinjaKitty13_- :3 Well I have a little sister who repeats EVERYTHING so one day I just called her a tape recorder. Thought that would fit the twins since they're also little kids. What's Prussia? **

**_ObsessiveFanFictioner15_- Yeah. A lot of people don't follow or favorite, they just keep an eye out. Well with me, you can't do that or else you miss out. As for DxS...I will NEVER ship another pairing! It's not just because it's a canon pairing either, it's because Danny and Sam just...go together. I don't mind rants. :) I actually like long reviews.**


	43. Chapter 43

~Chapter 43~

**A/N: Place epilogue of FWB here, if you want. Twist to the end of Phantom Planet: Danny has created a worldwide law; Fenton and Phantom are to be spoken of as two different people to protect the younger generation.  
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Almost three more months had passed. Sam's due date was so near that Danny's excitement, once again, became unbearable. Thankfully, unlike with the twins, she would have to be induced, which meant that the timing would be exact. It was a relief to have no surprises with this one. It was also a relief that Danny was, unwillingly, letting her go into the ghost zone with him while Johnny and Kitty were babysitting the twins. He still didn't trust them and still hated the idea of letting them near the twins, but they hadn't given him a single reason to think they might hurt them. He had left them alone with the twins before and always came back to find them safe and sound...when nobody else was available of course. Sam had come to trust them, but probably more because she desperately wanted their help than anything else. And since Sam was so pregnant, she really couldn't do much anymore, so Danny had to go along with whatever she thought was best. _For now_.

But at least now they were peacefully in bed ready to go to sleep. He didn't know that Sam wanted to have this conversation, nor was he expecting it, but...

"Danny, we need to talk," she said.

And that sentence right there always meant he was in trouble. Again. For the millionth time. Even if it was about something that happened last week.

"About what, dove?" he asked, softly kissing her cheek and inwardly hoping this would be sweet enough to let him off the hook for whatever the heck it was this time.

She took a deep breath and stated, "I'm not okay."

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What?"

"A long time ago Cole asked me if I was okay with 'being violated', and I said I was. I'm not," she answered.

He already knew that. She didn't know it, but he knew she wasn't really okay. He just didn't know why. It had been three years, four actually, since her rape and for some reason there was still some part of her that couldn't get over it.

"Why aren't you okay?" he asked.

She shrugged and said, "I don't really know. But I think part of it is because I don't want to go back to seeing the twins as _not_ yours. For two years I only saw them as adopted and kept waiting for you to stop treating them like they were yours biologically...you know, like you were the real father...but you never did and finally on the third year I guess I realized you wouldn't stop seeing them like they weren't yours. After that I started looking at you like their real father. But when I think back to being raped, I keep remembering that you've adopted them, and I don't like seeing it that way."

Well that was one thing he didn't know... Of course he wasn't their real father. Of course he adopted them. But he didn't know she was waiting for him stop loving them all the way up until a couple years ago. At least she eventually came to know that he wouldn't, and couldn't even if he tried.

He sighed and put his arms behind his head.

"It's all right, Sam. I'm not their biological father and I know that, but it's just not possible for me to stop treating them the way I do. And I guess I can understand why you thought that way. I mean, I was really young when they were born and most guys, especially if the baby isn't theirs, would've left. At first I was only covering for you to help you keep your secret, but then my life started changing and I knew that I didn't want to _pretend_ to be the dad anymore.

And I already know you're not okay. I've known it all along. You're afraid, that's why I hold you every night."

In fact, he would've been holding her right now, but she was facing him and her stomach was now so big that it pushed him away. Unless she was facing the other way he literally _couldn't_ hold her.

"There's more to it, I just don't know what it is yet," she said.

"He's dead, Sam. You don't need to worry anymore."

"I still have nightmares though."

No. They weren't just nightmares, they were night terrors. She swore she saw shadows, swore there was someone there, but there wasn't. It was all in her head but for a while she genuinely believed it was real. It made him wonder what exactly she'd dreamt about that scared her so much. Since this usually happened only when he didn't have his arms around her, he was starting to assume that her dreams were about him not being there to protect her, but it could be anything. He was just glad she hadn't had one in a long time. It worried him because he knew what the stress could do to the baby. He could calm her down, but there was nothing he could do about the baby. Despite being pretty much full term, she could still die. If Sam could just hold out a little longer, just for a few more days...

And sometimes these night terrors snuck up on her randomly, whether he was holding her or not. There would be no apparent trigger for them, but each time was the same. She woke up screaming his name, then made him check the darkest corner of the room, and finally cried herself back to sleep. Never once had he blamed her for this. She'd gone through so much in her past that it wasn't surprising she still suffered from the trauma. During the day she was fine but during the night she worried him.

"Sam?"

"Hm?"

"What are your nightmares about? What happens in them?" he softly asked.

She thought for a few seconds and replied, "When I was raped the first time, the very first giveaway that someone was there was the sense of being watched. The second was a twig snapping. And the third was a large shadow looming over me."

That would explain the shadow people...

"I ignored the first two when I should've just run," she continued. "In my nightmares I see the shadow and look behind me, but there's no one there. When I turn back around someone grabs me."

She stopped entirely and yawned. But there was no way that could be the end. No, it would take something much more severe than just being grabbed to upset Sam to the point of completely losing it. And when she woke up from those nightmares...just...BAM, all her logic was lost for some time until he could calm her down. So no, this definitely wasn't the end and she definitely wasn't telling him the whole truth.

"What next?" he asked.

She shook her head this time and said, "Danny, you don't want to know."

"Yes I do. That's why I'm asking."

Sighing, she caved in...sort of. "I basically just relive the same thing."

Seriously, that was far too vague. Sam never gave him such an unclear answer unless she was trying to hide something, but telling just enough truth to get by. Plus, her key word was 'basically'. No one said 'basically' and gave any real information away. He wanted the deeper details. He wanted to find out what in the world was scaring her so badly that even after all these years, she still couldn't sleep peacefully; not without him anyway, and even then there were no guarantees.

"Am I going to get any more information out of you or is this it?"

"This is it!" she quickly snapped.

Mood swing. Just go with it.

"Okay," he replied.

She turned over and pushed herself into him. Her stomach had grown so large and he was so tall that he couldn't put his arms all the way around her anymore.

"Would you quit sucking up to me?" she grumbled.

If he did, he would find himself in loads of trouble. If he didn't, he would find himself in a little less trouble. He couldn't win for losing with her. It just strengthened his resolve...NO MORE PREGNANCIES AFTER THIS ONE. He couldn't mentally take another nine months of hormones! Honestly... He loved Sam, he loved the twins, and he loved this child but this was the last one!

It would end though. It was almost over. All he needed to do was hold out for just a few more days...just endure it for a few more days... The baby would be born, Sam would finally stop killing him off every time he didn't do anything wrong and he would be free. Freedom. God, wasn't that a sweet word... And it was just days away...

"Sorry, dove," he said as he pecked her cheek.

"You just did it again, didn't you?!"

Crap.

"No, I didn't," he lied.

"You lie! You're lying to me! I'm supposed to be your precious 'dove'. Why would you lie to y-"

He just zoned out at that point. It happened every time and sometimes it could go on for half an hour. Just a few more days of this...just a few more days...not much longer...endurance...patience...willpower... Then he would go back to being her fiance and not her emotional punching bag. Tucker never got this treatment. Cole never got this treatment. Nobody _else_ had to suffer. It was just him, it was _just_ him! And invisibility hadn't been an option since several months ago, when he got busted for it and her wrath lasted throughout the whole month. No more ghost powers to avoid this...he'd learned that the hard way. Compared to this the cold shoulder was an absolute blessing!

Oh, and then there was, just as it was with the twins, the 'nesting stage' his mom talked about. Now that he no longer had school, he was stuck moving furniture all day, only to have her disapprove of it the next day. Ghost appearance? Johnny and Kitty. Let those two handle it. He was too busy being lassoed by Sam to deal with anything else. At the end of the day he could hear the ghost couple laughing downstairs talking about how it sucked to be him. Yeah it sucked to be him right now! But no...it would be worth it in a few days... He could soldier through another few days of harsh manual labor and pregnant hormones. He knew he could. He'd faced Pariah Dark and lived...he could do this much. Even though it really was harder than saving the world. Hard thought but...true.

Something about being a kiss-up.

"Speaking of kisses, any chance I c-"

"No, you perverted _male_!" she hissed back.

Insert deep, long sigh here.

"You should probably get your rest," he suggested.

"You just want me to shut up!"

Well, yeah... That and he'd spent the whole day remodeling the house and getting scolded for God-knows-what, which left him exhausted.

He decided to just close his eyes and zone out again.

* * *

><p>There was a short moment of peace as they glided through the ghost zone, but only because Sam had decided to take a nap. Countdown 'til baby, two days left. Normally he didn't like Sam coming along with him when he tried to steer his way through the entire ghost zone through memory alone, but not only did she pester him beyond his limits, this also got him out of moving and moving and moving and moving and moving again all the house furniture. But unlike any of the ghosts he'd fought, he was getting a very precious reward this time. This time he was getting a little baby girl, another daughter, and the freedom to get more than just ten minutes of peace.<p>

He smirked at the last thought. It was only two days until he would get to hold his newborn child in his arms for the first time. And not just his child, but Sam's too. It was their first child together, meaning the twins would have a little sister to play with when they grew older. He could see it now... At first his family was complete the way it was but now, with a third child on the way, he somehow had even more completeness. He didn't think that was possible but apparently it was.

He jolted forward as the rockets to the Specter Speeder died down. He pressed his foot on the gas again to get it going. It hardly moved at all. He pressed the gas again, but the rockets barely flickered.

He continued to press down on the gas, slowly heading towards an island he could land on. _Something_ was clearly wrong...

He checked to see how much fuel was left, his first thought being that this was the problem, but the tank was just over half full. Well this was great... He could probably just transform into Phantom and fly both himself and Sam out of the ghost zone and come back to fix this thing later. Problem was...he was running on memory. He had the map, just in case, but the map only had landmarks. Here, on this deserted island, he couldn't see anything but a few satellite islands; all equally deserted. There _were_ no landmarks he could follow. But if he could find something and fix the Specter Speeder, he could roam past these islands until he reached someplace familiar. From there he could just go back home.

Judging from the time they'd already spent in the ghost zone, they had to be hours away from the ghost portal. That wasn't good... He might not be able to call for help if he needed it, not at this distance.

He turned off the Speeder and hopped out of it just in time to hear Sam wake up and start complaining about the dress she was wearing. The _maternity_ dress she was wearing. It went down to her knees, so it hid her scars, which gave her one less thing to complain about. But it would get worse for him because sooner or later she would realize that they were stuck until he could get the Speeder working again. It didn't necessarily have to be _fixed_, it just had to be able to transport them back home, where his parents could help him fix it.

Sighing, he went around to the back and opened up the trunk where the engine rested. Immediately, a huge cloud of black smoke burst forth with a strong hiss and a spark somewhere in there. He coughed and backed away. This was awesome because with Sam already having enough to whine about, he was stranded here giving her another excuse. He was also dooming himself to more torturous venting. Just...one long rant after another... She would probably break down in tears one minute and the moment he tried to console her, she would lash out at him. Then when he would try to comply and go along with whatever she said, she would do the same thing she did last night. It was always a lose-lose situation with her. _Always_.

"Danny, what was that?" she asked, clearly referring to the smoking engine of the ship.

He looked at it closer to see if there would be another spark. If there was, this thing could catch fire and he didn't want to put Sam in danger of that. He had intangibility so he wasn't really worried about himself, but Sam had nothing _and_ was very heavily pregnant. Even though it was just two days...and even though she would have to be induced...she could still get stressed out by their predicament. It was still dangerous to the baby.

"Danny, seriously, what was that?" she repeated.

He saw her waddle over through his peripheral vision, hands placed on top of her stomach as usual. To his relief, her expression was only of concern with no hint of aggression.

"Uh... I-I don't really know. I think something happened to the engine. It'll be fixed in no time though, just go ahead and wait in the Specter Speeder for me. Be there in a few minutes," he assured her.

He was most likely lying about that... The way the engine threatened to blow up just now proved that something completely stopped working. Thankfully the smoke had cleared, there were no more sparks, and the hissing sound had stopped. It was safe to check everything out now, which also meant it was safe for Sam to stay in the ship. He would rather have her sitting down resting than standing on her feet outside on an unknown island. Hopefully she would go back to sleep. She really needed her rest. He supposed it had something to do with this baby being half ghost...assuming she had any of his powers. She might not have inherited any of them, which would work out great because he had no idea how to train someone else to use ghost powers. It was something he'd figured out on his own so explaining how all that worked to someone else... It couldn't be done, not with him.

Maybe it was actually the battery that had something wrong with it...? No...no, it was definitely the engine. Probably. All the parts seemed to be in tact; didn't look like anything fell off or something... What _was_ wrong with this thing? He was no mechanic but it looked fine. Maybe something short-circuited. Some kind of electrical problem, or a valve somewhere?

What he didn't know was that Sam was still complaining in the Speeder, but this time it went from her 'tight' dress to false contractions. This would scare Danny half to death if he knew how frequently she'd been having them lately, so naturally she never told him, but they were painful nevertheless and felt just like real ones. She'd been having them for so long now that this was why she had to be induced. They said her body might not be able to handle giving birth to a supernatural being. She wanted to kill them for calling her _baby_ a supernatural being, but luckily for them Danny was right beside her and would've stopped her if she tried anything.

She hissed as another sharp pain shot through her. This happened seven more times before some kind of instinct overwhelmed her and she hurried out of the vehicle.

"Danny..." she squeaked, finally coming to the realization that doctor or not her body was going to try to handle birth anyway.

Surprise! This baby didn't like the concept of timing.

"Danny, you got that thing fixed yet?" she asked after she was released from a wave of pain.

Having given birth once already, she knew the signs of when it really was time for the baby to come. Right now she felt extremely uncomfortable but when she start feeling pressure and her contractions reached their closest in time, that was when the baby was coming out and there would be nothing anyone could do to help her at that point.

"Um...well no, not really... It might take a little longer than I thought," he answered.

Well the baby wouldn't wait around forever! But if he knew she had already gone into labor, he would panic and never get it done. She didn't want to give birth in the ghost zone, of all places, and she was getting even more uncomfortable with just being here. Especially with their only means of transportation broken, instinct told her two things: find a secluded place, and make sure there was enough room. The Speeder was secluded but it was broken and too cramped. This island had more than enough room but it was in no way secluded. If Danny couldn't fix the Specter Speeder soon then she would have no choice but to give birth here. Once her water broke, that was it, and she wouldn't be able to go back anyway because then she might actually go ahead and have the baby in such a small area that it could put the baby in danger. She _needed_ room and she _needed_ to get back home. But it wouldn't help if Danny knew about this. Her water hadn't broken yet anyway, so she was fine...for now.

She tried to keep her spirits up by looking at the bright side. She was full term. That was good. She wasn't alone. Also good. Um...what else... Let's see... Uh...

There were no more upsides. She knew it could be worse, at least she had Danny here to help. But looking back this was the same guy who passed out during the twins' birth. He might not be very useful after all... Not unless he could fix-

She grabbed her stomach and bent over in pain, this time all but crippled by it.

"DANNY!" she screamed. Forget not letting him know, he needed to know just how important it was to get it done and if this was what it took then so be it!

"What?!" he shouted, running over to her just as she was straightening herself back out. "What, are you okay?"

Oh, yeah, she was dandy, let us all forget that she was in LABOR. Not that he knew...

"It's time," she grunted.

"Time?" he echoed.

She gripped her stomach. "Yes,_ time_. It's _time_, Danny."

And time was sort of painful right now!

"Wh..." He shook his head and gave her a confused look. "What are you talking about? What time?"

"Faye..." she whimpered.

"What about her?" he asked.

That idiot! That clueless idiot! "Danny, God forbid you should...! It's time-!"

Her sentence was cut short when she grabbed her stomach and glared at him, soon going from a glare to a look of pleading with him just to take the pain away.

He put his hands of her shoulders. "Sam, calm down. Now...it's time for wha-"

He was stopped by an abrupt splattering sound on the ground.

"IT'S _TIME!_" he screeched.

**A/N**

**Uh-oh. ;) If I say anything about Danny I'll spoil the next chapter, so I really don't have anything to say on it.**

**Oh but if any of you are wondering why those ghosts mentioned in the last chapter haven't made a single move yet, think about it. Those rumors of Danny being so protective, of him not at all willing to hold back and overly willing to completely obliterate anyone who comes near the twins? Yeah, those rumors have spread far and wide and they know he won't hold back by now. They're hanging back, still too afraid to truly make a move yet. Therefore, Danny's ghost sense hasn't gone off yet and believe it or not, Johnny and Kitty's help puts his mind at ease, as is actually shown in this chapter. He still doesn't want them near the twins but he's willing to leave them alone with the twins. He won't admit it but in a way he IS starting to trust them more and more, so he's a lot less likely to attack them (whereas he was seriously considering it before) than any other ghost. So whether he's realizing this or not, they're taking a lot of weight off his shoulders. And DO NOT FORGET THIS: he's seeing for himself that Johnny and Kitty are fighting for the twins, and thus are proving themselves to be more friend than foe. For Danny they're still neutral. **

**And nooowwwww... We had two birthdays, two days apart, so I've had to compensate for both by updating on this particular day. HAPPY BELATED/EARLY BIRTHDAY TO** **_weird-o152_ AND _Chloee0x0_! Hope you both liked this chapter. :3**

**Okay. Just because I've kind of had enough of this... You'll be VERY surprised at how many people (anonymity so as not to embarrass anyone) have PMed me asking me to put in a lemon or two, or if I could go into much more graphic detail with Danny and Sam's "first time" together in a later chapter. My answer? Yeah. Sure. You'll see a lemon. IF SOMEONE ELSE WRITES IT. I do not do lemons, guys. This story will not have a lemon in it. My only compromise is to let someone else write one for this story, and THEN you have your lemon.**

**Review quota is none because unlike last time I can see the keyboard very clearly. It's also two birthdays and I did one for _Favorite Daughter Of Hades_, so this time? Nope, zilch quota.**

**But review REPLIES? ;) 'Course! **

**_Favorite Daughter Of Hades_- Nah, it's fine! :) I promised to update on your birthday, so I did. You're welcome! XD I know, right? Gotta love Sam's pregnancy and Danny's 9-month suffering.  
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**_jim89_- :P Maaaaaybe. Well, Sam's pretty strict about her views of people. It'll take a lot of work to change her mind about Valerie, but who knows, maybe she'll accept her as an ally. But just because you do seem pretty concerned about Valerie here, I'll give you a little spoiler: she will reappear in this story. Again, maaaaaaybe. ;)**

**_princessbinas_- I'll check it out if I've got the time. And if I find it on Nick. You also...sorta lost me... I don't know ANY of these characters, remember, so I got a little confused around the last part.  
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**_Samtastic V2.0_- Don't worry. ;) She will show up. I'm afraid I can't tell you how Danny will react when she does though, because she's his clone/cousin AND she's still half ghost, yet also half human. He'll be pulled two ways with that. Awwwww, thanks! ^.^  
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**_SuperGeorgia_- Well, no, they really are there to help. They may be his former enemies but do you really think they want innocent, VERY young children to die? This is also the golden chance to get into his good books and be able to roam within five miles of the twins and still exist. They genuinely want to help. Besides, Johnny and Kitty just always seemed like the type who would sooner help Danny than actually kill him. Despite the shadow I just can't see them truly wanting him dead. And now they're on his side, and trust me they don't want to get out of it. XD Yeah, I love Danny's insane overprotectiveness and pure love for the twins. All kids deserve a good father, and all mothers deserve a good husband. He'll be both. ;)**

**_ObsessiveFanFictioner15_- XD And the truth has been told! But to be fair, Sam is pregnant and he knows stress isn't good for her. "Just go with it." Perfect motto for him. Pfft, Danny, overprotective? Naaahhhh. Surely you're hallucinating these words, dear friend! **

**_sammansonrepilica_- :D Thank you! And yeah, I figured Danny and Sam needed more help. I always viewed Johnny and Kitty as good helpers if he ever needed them. Now...if it was the Box Ghost...ehhhh... Need I say more? **

**_AwesomeMan327_- Oh, sorry. The only reason Clockwork can be trusted is because he helped Danny keep from becoming Dark Dan, something that would hurt his kids. As for everyone else, they're still ghosts. They can be allies but that only means he won't try to destroy them, it doesn't mean he likes the idea of a visit when there's kids to consider. -_- And we all know how Danny is when it comes to the poor kids. **

**_TheNinjaKitty13_- Thanks! :D Oh. I don't watch Hetalia so I didn't know, and I also didn't know that Prussia used to be a country. :/ Sorry...**

**Okay. I had this chapter (and the review replies as they came) written out but was waiting to post this on the 24th. You should know, if you've been following my other A/Ns, that I have seizures. There are four triggers. Illness is one of them. I'm sick. -_- While I take medication to keep them under control, I've just hit a main trigger, which means my medication could fail at any time. In fact, I could've had an absent one right now and not even know it. **

**So I'm sick, susceptible to seizures, and exhausted. *sigh* Well, early update. Unfortunately I won't be able to update (even write) again until I'm better. Sorry to the birthday people but I didn't anticipate this. Consider it an early birthday gift.**


	44. Chapter 44

~Chapter 44~

He clutched his hair, probably as hard as she was clutching her stomach. Why couldn't she have told him she was in labor the _moment_ she found out?! He didn't even know if he had enough time to get the Specter Speeder up and going again, not with a baby at stake! She couldn't have told him this?! How long had she been in labor?!

She groaned in pain and bent over herself, still holding her stomach.

This wasn't a good sign. With the twins she underwent what he had been told was 'passive labor', where she was uncomfortable and in pain, but not to the point of the baby actually _coming_ yet. But when she went into 'active labor', she was literally working herself to the bone trying to push the baby out. This time it looked like she was somewhere in between, but then again, she wasn't laying down right now.

But one of the most worrying parts about this was that she was getting stressed out about being in labor in the ghost zone...of all places. Thankfully he'd been through this before. She could _not_ get stressed out during birth. That was why, when everyone else was told she wasn't dilating quickly enough with the twins, no one told Sam. Therefore the same rule would apply this time; tell her _nothing_.

Problem here was, she was in an unfamiliar part of the ghost zone, which wasn't the safest place for a newborn. He was sure there had to be some kind of instinct telling her to find somewhere safe, but there was nothing here. And with the Speeder broken down like this, he couldn't get her anywhere he was familiar with. He could very easily go off on his own to find somewhere else, then come back and get her, but he couldn't leave her all alone while she was like this. And he couldn't try to work on the ship's engine because he had no idea how long this would take, or even if the engine _could_ be fixed.

Plus they hadn't prepared at all for this. There were no blankets, water, nothing. And Sam would be in much more pain than with the twins because it was a little too late to have an epidural. He didn't even have OTC painkillers with him!

But maybe there was some kind of material he could use as a makeshift blanket... That would get one thing covered, at least. He didn't know what he would do about the water. And he had no idea how he would cut the umbilical cord without scissors. _Sterile_ scissors.

Why couldn't Faye have just waited a little longer...? They could've been at a hospital instead of stranded in the ghost zone with no way of getting back.

Okay. Okay, right now, in the present, he needed to calm Sam down...or at least try to. Her body would be undergoing enough strain as it was, the last thing she needed was the extra stress. But if he could get her to calm down, she could focus on giving birth and pay less attention to where she was at.

He lifted her head up and gently tapped her cheek. "Sam, it'll be okay. I can call for help."

Yeah _right_! Even if he _could_ get help there was no way anyone could come in time. They were hours away from the portal and by the time help arrived, it would be too late to move Sam. In fact, once she laid down, there would be no getting her back up. If he could keep her on her feet for as long as she could hold out...

"This hurts..." she croaked. "Get me out of here..."

He wished he could...

He quickly pulled out his cell phone and dialed Tucker. Being the new and youngest mayor of Amity Park meant he was usually very busy, so there was a chance he wouldn't pick up at all. And his parents wouldn't be a very good choice since they could be a little too enthusiastic about ghosts, which made the ghost zone their freaky paradise. Jazz was still in college and if he knew her professors, they wouldn't let her go no matter what the occasion was...even if her little brother happened to be having babies that day. The twins, obviously, were far too young to even _be_ in the ghost zone, which made him all the more nervous about his second daughter being _born_ here. Johnny and Kitty were with the twins and although Johnny had a bike speedier than the Specter Speeder, he'd better not leave those kids all by themselves...

This made Tucker his only hope. And if Tucker couldn't do it...well...he couldn't tell what would happen... If Tucker couldn't do anything, Faye would be born here and he had no idea what effects-if any at all-the ghosts zone would have on a newborn. Hopefully either good ones or none. So Faye would be born here, again assuming Tucker couldn't help, but he wouldn't be able to move anyone. Sam would've just given birth so moving her even into the Speeder would be a bad idea. He could leave Faye with Sam but where would he be going and if he got lost, how would he be able to find his way back in this barren part of the ghost zone that he wasn't familiar with in any way? Sam would be too weak to be left alone, otherwise she could easily take care of Faye while he searched for anything that seemed familiar. Problem was, he couldn't go too far away from them. He would have to stay in a radius where he could still see them.

It made Tucker all the more critical.

"Hello?" a voice on the other end asked. "Mayor Tucker speaking."

"Yeah, well you're not Mayor Tucker to me. I need your help _immediately_," Danny said.

There was a sigh coming from the other end. "Danny, it's been some time since Johnny and Ki-"

"No! It's not them!" he shouted. "It's Sam, she's..."

He looked back around to find the goth already getting ready to lay down. He knew that she wanted to and he knew that she probably had this feeling that she _had_ to, but he wouldn't be able to get her back up if she laid down. She didn't, and wouldn't, understand that.

He rushed over and grabbed her wrists, pulling her back up. "Sam, no, don't lay down."

"What?"

"You need to keep standing, okay?"

"Look, I don't know what you're thinking but I'm not about to have a baby _standing up_," she hissed.

"Just keep standing. You need to trust me on this one."

He heard Tucker take a sharp breath and say, "Did she just say 'have a baby'?!"

"She's in labor right now and the Specter Speeder broke down. We're hours away from the Fenton portal and I have no idea where we're at. Even if I did know, we have no way of getting back. I can fly on my own but I need you to find a way to get Sam back," he explained.

"How?! I'm not a ghost like you, you know! And the Specter Speeder is the only transportation we have, now you broke it!"

He didn't break it, something happened to it...

"Look, unless you can find some way to get us back, Sam's _going_ to give birth in the ghost zone."

"Can't you figure something out? I mean, you're already there."

Like he hadn't thought about all the possibilities yet?!

"It's all I can do to keep her calm right now, Tuck! She was supposed to be induced, we weren't prepared for this! I don't have anything a baby will need once it's born!"

A short moment of silence. "Low battery. Listen, I'll do what I can, I'll try to figure something out, but if I can't get there in time, try to be resourceful. Use whatever you can to help Sam and Faye. Now I have to charge my phone and get started. Remember, don't tell Sam if there's a problem and do what the doctors did when she was having Lilith and Junior. I gotta go. Bye and the best of luck!"

He angrily slammed his phone shut and threw it in the Specter Speeder. Like he knew half of what the doctors and nurses did...! Well, no... They checked her dilation. That was one thing they did frequently enough. But he didn't know anything about dilation! Well...then...what else? They gave her an epidural. Except, he'd already thought about that and he had absolutely nothing that could be used to help her with the pain. Okay, then what else did they do, exactly? ...They hooked her up to a few machines and an I.V. Yeah, because obviously he had anything _remotely_ close to that... What else then?! What could he do by using the things around him? There was nothing but ghost zone dirt on the island and the islands surrounding it. Everything would have to come from the Speeder.

Great. First the engine, then Sam, then Tucker, and now zero resources.

Okay. Well, he needed to help her emotionally, since it was clear that there was nothing he could do physically. Right now he needed to calm her down and keep her stress levels minimal, otherwise complications were likely to arise and under these circumstances, he would be helpless to stop it. So even if he thought there might be a problem, he couldn't tell her no matter what.

Tucker would take time, he knew, to figure out a way to help them out of this situation. By then Sam could already be in active labor. And if she was by the time help came, she couldn't be moved at all. At least during passive labor there was a chance but if she was straining herself that hard, moving her would only stress her out and break her concentration. She would need that concentration...so far the situation wasn't looking very good.

Maybe it was better if she laid down after all... She could be allowed to follow that urge, which would pose one less problem to deal with.

"Okay. At least lay down in the Specter Speeder," he said.

She vigorously shook her head. "Absolutely not! It's way to tight in there!"

Tight? Tight _how_? That thing was very spacious. Although looking back to birthing the twins, she had to spread her legs wide. She might not see the inside of the ship roomy enough to do that without feeling cramped.

"I don't care what you say, I can't keep standing anymore..." she groaned, laying flat on the ground.

Apparently she was choosing space over seclusion. And maybe that was a better idea. If she was alone, space wouldn't be an option, but since he was here, he could provide that safety. It would just be a little hard to perform sentry duty and potentially deliver a baby. He wasn't exactly partial to being a midwife... He could do it, but only because this was his daughter. Still...hopefully Tucker would make it in time.

He watched helplessly as Sam began twisting and turning in fruitless efforts to make herself more comfortable. The ground probably wasn't comfortable to begin with, but she'd done the same thing when she was in labor with the twins. As much as he wanted to tell her to stop, that it was useless, and that she should probably try to conserve her energy...he knew she wouldn't listen. On top of that, if even one wrong _word_ came out of his mouth, it could cause stress. And from the looks of it, her moodiness was only _starting_ to subside. Until it was completely gone, he didn't want to risk saying the wrong thing and upsetting her. Suddenly it was like those nine whole months of torture and hormones were _nothing_ compared to this. She didn't even want to speak this time, but he could see that she was getting more and more uncomfortable...but he blamed that one on the ground. Still, watching her and being completely helpless was hard. He _wanted_ to help, he _wanted_ to make her feel better, but there was nothing he could do.

Right now it was easier to keep himself calm, which would ultimately keep Sam from getting too upset, but once she was _really_ pushing, and once she was in ten times more pain than he could ever _imagine_, it would be extremely hard not to get up and pace around like he had before.

But there was also a chance that he wouldn't have to. If Tucker could hurry up and come before Sam went into active labor, there was hope of getting her to a hospital to be addressed.

He took a deep breath and sat down next to her chest. There were only two things he could do at this point: let her know he was there for her; and keep an eye out for any danger.

"It'll be okay, Sam," he mumbled, gently brushing a hand over her cheek.

There were no tears yet, but she was starting to sweat a little. It could only mean her contractions were getting stronger, and this could be a possible sign that Faye wasn't about to wait around when there was a whole outside world to see. But maybe it was just him. He was trying not to show it but he was just as nervous as she was, maybe even more since she had a strong distraction. He had no such distraction and although he kept a close eye on both Sam and their surroundings, there was nothing strong enough to pull his attention away from the anxiety. For Sam, it would be pain. It would be a lot of pain. But for him it was just...nothing. Until help came, he would be forced to sit quietly and appear to be calm while she was giving birth, or at least was in any kind of labor. Which, technically, was still giving birth. Nice thought...

"Pretty sure she'll want to get out soon..." she whispered in a strained voice.

_Soon_?!

"How soon, do you think?" He tried not to sound nervous and maybe he didn't, but to him it sounded like his voice was starting to waver.

He didn't _want_ her to know he was nervous. She _couldn't_ know he was nervous. But right now it was very hard to hide it because this was such an unsafe place and they were stuck in unfamiliar territory _with no way back_. Faye was giving him every reason to be nervous!

Sam just shook her head.

He noticed that she was already settling down into the standard position of active labor. This wasn't like telling her to stand up instead of lay down, this time he couldn't control any of it. She was still moving around, but just barely. It was easy to imagine her the way she looked when she was in labor with the twins...in a hospital gown, under some covers, the unforgettable look of discomfort on her face, and the complete unwillingness to speak. He remembered all too well how everyone but himself was kicked out of the room, and how he had gotten up just from seeing Sam in so much pain and being unable to do anything to help her. He was going to be her husband. She was pregnant with his child. And she was giving birth to that child. It was a natural feeling to protect them from harm, but Sam was already in serious pain and he couldn't protect her from that. Yes, it was for a good cause, and yes, it was completely normal...but he hated the thought of her being in just that much pain and all he could do was watch.

Back with the twins, back when she was at the hospital in a safe, clean environment, he remembered being deathly afraid to touch her...just in case. Of course he was also fifteen back then and had no experience with anything female, which at the time included childbirth. Now childbirth wasn't exactly a female matter, but a beautiful part of life. It just wasn't so beautiful while it was happening, was all...

He paled at the memory of the very end, when he cut the umbilical cords. That was not a 'little blood', that looked like a miniature massacre! It was horrible! And it just...it all splattered down...all onto the floor...at his feet...right in front of him...a big mess...bloody...very bloody...a blood puddle...a big blood puddle... Sam hadn't seen that. Sam hadn't known. Sam was lucky she didn't see that. Sam was lucky she didn't know.

He felt himself grow sick at that particular memory. That...beautiful part of childbirth...

"If you puke on me, I'll kill you," Sam growled.

Apparently he looked just as sick as he felt.

He weakly smiled at her. "Don't worry, dove, I won't." But he might puke somewhere else...

He heard her gasp in pain and frowned, putting gentle hand on her stomach. He could feel the muscles tightening until they were harder than rock. Hopefully this was still just...passive. Yeah.

He rubbed her stomach, feeling the muscles relax. He could only imagine what that felt like to her. Her stomach still felt hard but that was because of the baby. But when her muscles tensed up like that, it felt like _steel_. Part of him was glad he didn't have to go through this, but that was also the selfish part. He chose to listen to the other part, the one that wished he could take this away from her...or at least hurry up with the baby.

But Faye had other plans. Twenty minutes had to have passed and both a blessing and a curse happened; she wanted to a wait a little longer. The only thing that made this a curse was that Sam was still in labor and hurting from it. The obvious was a blessing.

Then another blessing happened when his phone rang in the Speeder. Again he was torn. Leave Sam, or stay with her. In the end, after a very short debate, he chose to leave her to answer the call.

"Hello?" he said, keeping a close eye on Sam and scanning the background every split second.

It was Tucker on the other end. "Hey, Danny. We have good news and bad news."

"Good news first."

"Okay. My phone is charged enough to talk to you for a while."

He took a sharp breath. "Any more to that good news? No surprises, because Sam is in labor and she's in a lot of pain right now."

"Then you'll really hate the bad news..."

"TELL ME!"

"Well..." There was a moment's hesitation on Tucker's part. "We're kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place here...um... To put it bluntly, we have no way of getting to you in time. Your parents are building another Specter Speeder right now-"

"WHAT?!"

"Sam's giving birth in the ghost zone whether we like it or not."

"What about Johnny's bike?! That's transportation!"

"Yeah, but it's meant for two people at most, and Sam's stomach is too big for her to hold on. Faye would be too small to get on a bike and Johnny can't hold her if he's driving. Plus, Sam wouldn't be in any condition to move right now so even if it was possible to get back on his bike, you still couldn't do it," he explained.

"What am I supposed to tell Sam? She can't be stressed out right now, you know that."

He didn't need to see it to know Tucker was shaking his head right now, probably at a loss for words.

"I just... I don't know what to tell you," he mumbled. "Unless ghost babies take at least week or two to be born, there's nothing we can do."

A WEEK OR TWO?! "Wait, wait, don't hang up, Tuck, there has to be some way to at least get us to someplace familiar..."

"The only way that's possible is to get the Speeder working again, even if it's just for a little while. Have you tried jump starting it?"

"Do I look like I carry that kind of equipment with me?"

"What about hot wiring it? That might work."

"It won't. Something's wrong with the engine."

"What's wrong with it?"

"If I knew that, I might've already fixed it! But I have no idea what it is and I have no idea how to get out of this! Please, Tucker, isn't there _anything_ you can do? _Anything_!"

"I've looked into a billion different ideas before calling you but I can't see a way out. Faye _will_ not wait for us and Sam _will_ give birth in the ghost zone. Look, I hate this too, but I just... Look, man, I _really_ wish I could help but I can't."

"This is my daughter!"

"And this is my niece! I don't mean to sound harsh but you need to stop begging me to do something I can't do and _go help Sam_. Now I'm going to help your parents, they need some extra parts. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can come get you."

And with that Tucker hung up.

At least they were coming... At least there was something good about waiting...

He couldn't let Sam know any of this. She couldn't know help wouldn't come in time. She couldn't know she would be forced to give birth here. She most certainly could know that the Speeder was out of the question. With her in labor and Faye on the line, he couldn't afford the time to tinker with the engine, especially when he didn't even know what was wrong with it.

But she would figure it out sooner or later. Help wasn't coming and that would send her into a full blown panic attack. Faye needed to come before Sam even started to have doubts. And under no circumstances did he want to lie to her but this time he had no choice.

He threw his phone back onto the seat and walked back over to Sam, sitting cross-legged near her chest.

"Tucker just called," he said, stroking her stomach as he put on the best fake smile he could muster after hearing that kind of news. "Help is on its way, just hang in there, all right?"

She winced and nodded.

"Am I hurting you?" he asked as he took his hand off her.

She shook her head.

This couldn't be good. She didn't even want to talk anymore. She _wouldn't_ talk anymore. Apparently Faye was tired of waiting because with the twins, she only _really_ stopped talking a few hours before she went into active labor. Tucker said about a week or two. That was far too long for this. If he was right, if they had no choice but to give birth here in the most unwanted of all places, then Danny would have no way to take care of Sam or Faye once she was born.

He shook the thoughts out of his head and tried to focus on what he needed to do right now. If he had any chance of help out in this situation, then he had to be as resourceful as Tucker was expecting him to be. First, the things he would need when Faye was born...

Back in the hospital they had Sam in a gown. Right now she was in a dress-and what better timing to wear one, too. Gown was covered. They said not to let Sam know anything. Covered. They regularly checked up on her 'dilation' but he had absolutely zero knowledge in that area. Unable to be covered. They had it so Sam wasn't wearing any underwear, but if he took hers off now she would know and possibly start to panic. Couldn't be covered yet, but would be at the last second. They had her on an epidural. Unable to be covered. They had her hooked up to a bunch of monitors. Unable to be covered.

Okay. Maybe it would be a little less disheartening if he tried to compile a list of the things they had _when_ the twins were born rather than what they had _before_ it.

He quickly kissed Sam's forehead before starting on his list, giving her a little encouragement and the assurance that he wouldn't leave. She didn't make any movement in response, just closed her eyes and took deep breaths.

Breathing was good. It would help keep her calm _just in case_. It would also help keep her oxygen levels up during her contractions.

Okay now. So. Let's see here... They had scissors for the umbilical cords! Yes, scissors! ...Which he didn't have... Um, makeshift scissors, what could be used as a makeshift pair of scissors...? Broken glass... NO. Something metal... NO. Anything sharp... DEPENDS.

Forget the scissors for now. What else? Water! They had warm water! And uh...what else? Let's see, they also had...a towel! They had a towel too! Okay, so water and a towel...and a blanket. But he could probably just use the towel as a blanket and use his own body heat as a source of warmth.

Yes, finally. He was starting to think resourcefully.

Anything else? What else did they use? A tie! They had a tie for the umbilical cord too, to keep the...the blood from...from running out...of... He didn't finish that thought. There was a tie. He didn't need to think about why as long as he knew what to do with it.

Anything else? Something that, hopefully, didn't cause him to feel nauseous and lightheaded?

His train of thought was broken when he heard Sam groan. She was practically noiseless with the twins... Then again, this time would be, and probably already was, much more painful than last time.

**A/N**

**PANT PANT... I worked myself to the bone on this chapter, I am NOT writing more! D'X THIS IS OVER 5,000 WORDS LONG...! It's a crappy place to leave off but I don't really care. We all know what the next chapter has in store for us, but I decided to add in a few more "details" to this upcoming scene... :3 I'll leave you to figure that out.**

**Please tell me what you think of this chapter. :'( It seriously was hard to write and I wanted to get down every little detail, which I probably failed at. But I'm just gonna get started on the next chapter... Plus it's night, I'm tired, and I need to get cracking on some other stories. **

**Review quota, I'll do one, because I actually haven't had a whole lot of time to work on this. Made the most of what I had. Anyway, new quota is five hundred ninety-three (593). Ten more than current.**

**Replies? 'Course!**

**_Samtastic V2.0_- Oh, don't worry. Flowers Will Grow is turning out to be a sequel you can read on its own as an actual story. It'll be explained and you'll understand it. All you really need to know in the epilogue is just that Phantom Planet has passed and the guy is dead according to his death sentence. Danny almost killed him when Sam suddenly recognized him, but she literally saved his skin...only from Danny, who hospitalized him. Oh, and Sam wasn't his only victim. There were multiple charges of rape and first-degree murder, but Danny ensured that Sam wasn't stated as one of those victims. Therefore the man never knew he had kids. And it didn't matter because thanks to those charges, he received the death sentence. **

**_beautifullove521_- I would but we don't have any and even if we did, I'd have to make sure my stomach is fine. I made a rule to myself that no matter what the cause, I won't throw up until 12:00pm, because then my medicine would have plenty of time to diffuse into my bloodstream. I can't throw that stuff back up. :S It's not cheap.**

**_ObsessiveFanFictioner15_- LOL Sarcasm! I haven't studied history in a good while and even when I did it wasn't my best subject.**

**_puppets4ever_- Thank you, I did! :D Well then you'll love the next chapter. ;D Trust me. You will. And I'm sorry but I couldn't help putting Danny in this particular situation! XD I had to do it. Just had to!**

**_princessbinas_- I can't watch videos on the internet thanks to our crappy internet server (Verizon). Uses up too much data, and they charge by data usage. And don't worry, it's fine. In fact, I do the same thing.**

**_Favorite Daughter Of Hades_- ^o^ Aw, thank you! It does but life happens. Hey, no, I like evil features! :D And don't worry...there will be turmoil. ;3**

**_HeroAce_- S'okay! :) Oh. Wow. Um, okay, so in order: Everyone knows he's Danny Phantom except the younger generation, as Fenton and Phantom are to be spoken of as two different people to protect the younger generation (imagine how many little kids would like to tag along to fight a ghost with the infamous Danny Phantom, and how many of them would NOT leave him alone as Danny Fenton); his kids don't know, they're the main reason Danny made that rule; Johnny and Kitty are able to be TOLERATED because Sam needs the help and protection in case something happens where he can't be there, but they've proven to be helpful so they're considered allies...although Daddy Danny doesn't exactly like the idea of them being so close to his kids; yes, Danielle will be coming, but later on. Dani won't be made a huge character though. Valerie will also be coming back but won't play a very big role either. **

**Hey, guys? ;) You'll LOVE what I have planned for PAULINA'S next appearance! ;D So excited! But it's many chapters away...better get started... *sigh* Not gonna be easy to make a chapter so far in the future... **


	45. Chapter 45

~Chapter 45~

He put two fingers to his temples and circled them around. Unlike processing the fact that she was pregnant when he was first told that, processing that she was already in labor earlier than the planned due date was a lot different. He had no time to actually think, he only had enough time to _do_.

She hissed in pain as another contraction hit her. They were getting closer and closer together, which meant that Faye could be coming any minute now.

"Just hold on a little longer, Sam," he said, brushing some of her hair aside. In doing so he felt sweat beads on her forehead. This was normal though. With the twins she started to get sweaty not too long before she went into active labor. Unfortunately this could mean that she could go into active labor any time now and he still had nothing to help her.

He put an inner panic attack in the back of his mind and tried to focus on what he did need to do. He needed a towel first. Resourceful though, resourceful...because it wasn't like they carried a towel around wherever they went... Okay. So. Towel... It would have to be some sort of cloth, obviously not an exact towel, but any kind of cloth would have to do until help really did come. And that was a lot of time to pass. He couldn't be too choosy right now...he couldn't be too choosy even if he _wanted_ to be. Their resources were very limited.

Okay. List, list, what was on the list? Let's see, there was...what was there? A tie. What could he use for a tie? It would have to be some kind of string, or a ribbon maybe...? There were seat belts in the Speeder but somehow he doubted that would work. There were wires in there but electrocution was not an option. WAIT! Shoelaces!

He looked down at his sneakers and took one of them off, untying it and weaving the lace out. Tie. Covered. It wasn't exactly sterile, but it was all he had.

Okay, what nex- Scissors. Scissors, scissors...scissors. It would have to be something with a blade on it, or at very least a sharp edge, and strong enough to cut an umbilical cord. So um...glass, metal, neither of those... He didn't have a knife or a pair of scissors on him... He couldn't think of one thing he could use in the Speeder that wasn't too dangerous. And he couldn't risk hurting Faye by using something that dangerous. ...As dangerous as _what_ though, he didn't have anything.

He ran a hand through his hair and sighed in frustration. He really didn't have anything he could use for the scissors... At least with the tie on-

He gagged. Enough with the tie. He had the tie. He knew what to do with the tie. No more thinking about the tie.

Okay. Okay. Next item, next item on the list.

"Danny," Sam groaned. "Call your mother."

"Help's on the way," he assured her. Yeah, in at very least a week...

"I don't care. Call her."

"Why?"

"Daniel..." she growled.

He quickly got up and rushed over to the Specter Speeder, grabbing his phone and dialing Tucker. He only half expected him to answer the call, but at least someone did. The unfortunate side? It was Jazz who picked up. The bright-ish side? At least there was someone at all. Knowing that could probably comfort Sam a little more than knowing that no one was answering. He just wasn't sure if that person being Jazz would offer the same comfort.

He put it on speaker phone and placed it next to Sam.

"It's Jazz," he told her, knowing Tucker probably told his sister about their little predicament; and knowing that Jazz, of all people, should know not to upset Sam.

"Hi, Sam," Jazz chirped, although the anxiety in her voice was evident.

"Get your mother..." she grunted.

"My mom? Why?"

Danny just sat down and shrugged his shoulders, silently following the conversation...blissfully thinking it was just to give Sam someone else to talk to.

"I don't have the patience for this, just do it!"

There were no more questions from Jazz as she transferred the phone to her mother.

"Sam? Honey? How are you doing?" Maddie's voice sang.

Danny noticed the difference in how insanely sweet her voice sounded as opposed to how it normally sounded, but it didn't look like Sam did. He hoped she didn't.

"You need to help Danny."

This earned her a confused look from him. Honestly, the guy who was doing everything he could to help was now being told he needed to be bossed around by his mom. How insanely cruel.

"Help him with what?"

"He'll have to be the midwife," she replied. "But I don't think he really knows what he's doing."

He scoffed but knew it was true.

"Okay. Danny, take the phone and get it off speaker," his mom said.

He did as he was told. He didn't exactly want to be doing this and under normal circumstances he would be trying to do everything himself but this just wasn't one of those times. Everything he could do was gone with the supplies he didn't have.

"Danny, sweetie," Maddie said into the phone, "you'll need a pair of scissors, something to tie-"

"I got the tie, don't say the tie! Don't say it!" he shouted.

"Young man, you will not raise your voice at me!" she reprimanded.

"Sorry, Mom."

"First, you'll need a towel to wrap Faye in," she said. "You need to get something you can use as a towel."

"I don't have anything I can use. A-And I don't have anything to use as scissors either. We have half a water bottle but that's about it for the water. I can use my own body heat to help keep Faye warm. I also have a shoelace out for the tie."

"Okay..." Maddie took a sharp breath. "The water may be a little low but it sounds good enough. If you don't have a towel, or blanket, or any kind of cloth like that, you can use your shirt. As for the scissors, the only thing I can think of that won't be that dangerous is your powers."

"My powers...? What?"

"Can't you shoot a little ghost ray from your hand? If you can just fine-tune that ray into one of your fingertips, you can make a clean cut."

WHAT?!

"I don't know if I want to use my powers on a baby, Mom."

"Well, Danny, you're a little limited on options here. If you have anything else in mind, you can use that, but if you really don't have anything, _use yourself_," she said. "Your shirt, your body heat, your shoelace... So far you're a walking piece of equipment."

Use himself... It was better than Tucker's advice to 'be resourceful'. That which he didn't know how to do, he was instructed to do. But now those two simple words bore more meaning than all of Tucker's conversation. Use himself... That meant use his powers on Faye... It was for the better but he only ever used his powers on ghosts or objects that weren't people...especially not babies!

Basically his mom was telling him to use something meant and used for violence to help his baby daughter. A baby, and he would have to use violence on her!

"Danny, I need you to listen to me, okay?" she continued, regaining her son's attention.

"Yeah."

"Don't take off your shirt just yet. I want you to leave that on until the very last minute, when you hear Faye. You need to get Sam out of her underwear though. She's wearing a dress, right? Wasn't she in a dress when she went in there with you? I could've sworn she was..."

"Yeah, she is."

"Pretend that's her hospital gown. Now the reason Sam wanted me to help you at this moment is probably because she can feel her body start pushing harder. I don't know if this has anything to do with giving birth to a ghost or if she's just lucky, but this is going by pretty fast. You need to stay focused and remember not to upset Sam," she instructed.

"Wait a minute, does this mean Faye's coming _now?!_"

"Take off her panties," she said, completely ignoring his question.

He nervously reached under Sam and pulled off her underwear. No blood. No blood yet. Good, no blood... No tie had to be used just yet, no...no blood...yet...

"Done."

"Okay, now you need to keep track of Sam's contractions."

"How?"

"Put a hand on her stomach and feel when the muscles tense and when they relax. When they tense, that's a contraction. When they relax, the contraction is over. Time the space in between. Once they reach five minutes or less, Sam _will_ start to push much harder. You need to stay calm and try to keep her calm. But remember, she won't be as calm as you and she'll probably act like she's in a lot of pain. It's perfectly normal but try to focus only on Faye if it starts making you nervous."

She was forgetting that he didn't like seeing the blood when the umbilical cord was cut. She was forgetting that focusing on Faye would result in memories of the twins' birth. She was forgetting that he was only _fifteen_ when he witnessed childbirth. She was forgetting that he had passed out after that. Either that or she didn't know he'd passed out because she wasn't there to see it and he didn't know if Sam told her or not.

But let nobody forget that he'd been traumatized when he saw all that blood splatter on the floor.

Didn't his mom understand what focusing _only_ on Faye would do to him?! Maybe he could hold his food down long enough to hand her over to Sam and make a dash as far away as he could before vomiting.

"Danny, do you have your hand on her stomach?" Maddie asked.

Right, right, hand on the stomach, just focus on the hand.

"Do now," he replied as he placed his hand over Sam.

"How far apart are the contractions?"

He shook his head and answered, "I haven't timed them."

"Then estimate."

He felt her muscles tighten immensely at that very moment and started to count in his head. "She's having one right now and I'm counting-"

"Count _after_ it passes," his mother interrupted.

Okay then. Reset to zero.

"You should probably exercise patience with this, in case you don't remember how long it took with Lily and Junior," she added.

Sam didn't really want Lilith to have a nickname because of the darkish undertone of the name, but everyone did call her Lily when she wasn't around. Eventually she would catch on too late and the nickname would be stuck. He himself actually called her lily pad when she wasn't around to hear it. Now that her pregnant hormones would be gone, her irritability would go with them and she probably wouldn't mind too much. In fact she would come to accept it in due time and not even care at all. Eventually, anyway. But for the time being, everyone hid the nickname, all knowing that she couldn't find out until she was in a very perky mood. Whenever that was... There were only two times he'd seen her so incredibly happy...once when she showed him she'd changed the twins' last names to his, and the other when he'd proposed to her.

Her muscles relaxed again and he began counting, tallying up the minutes in his head every time it hit sixty seconds. At three minutes and sixteen seconds exactly, he felt her muscles contract again and informed his mom about the time.

He wasn't too pleased to hear a quick gasp on the other end of the line.

"Danny, do you have everything on the list right beside you?" she rapidly asked.

"Except the water bottle, yes," he answered. "Why? What's happening?"

"What's happening is that you're lucky Sam's not screaming in pain right now."

"Wait, what?!"

"You need to get that water bottle _right now_ and get back to Sam as quickly as you can. Don't leave her for one second after that, understand?"

"But-"

"No buts Danny, you don't have time for buts."

Crap, that meant Sam had been in active labor this whole time and he never even knew! And judging by his mother's reactions, Faye just mustered the courage to get out and see the world and _nothing_ was about to stop her from doing that.

He quickly followed his mother's instructions and brought the water bottle from the Speeder to Sam's lower half, where he would, unfortunately, be staying until he'd taken care of Faye. Suddenly he was thankful Sam had demanded him to call his mother because apparently he really didn't have any idea what he was doing. But his mom seemed to have all the answers, so as long as she walked him through this everything would be fine.

He slid down to his knees just in time for his mother to say, "Now when Faye comes out, you need to wipe off her face. Try to get the blood completely off her."

Blood. God. Blood. On his own daughter. Th-The blood...

"Now do you see her head yet?" the woman continued.

He looked down to see a lump being pushed out.

"O-Oh God... Oh my God..." he breathed.

"That's the head. Take off your shirt now and hold it right below there to catch Faye when she comes out, and _stay calm_."

"Right there? Right up against her?"

"Yes, unless you want Faye to drop right out onto the dirt."

He took off his shirt and did as his mom told him.

"Now you can close your eyes for this part if you want-"

He closed his eyes immediately.

"-but once you feel a newborn squirming in your shirt, open them and... Do you remember what I told you to do once she's born?"

He nodded. "Yeah, you said to wipe her off."

"Danny, you can _not_ be squeamish. You have to do this for your baby girl," she told him.

"Yeah...yeah...okay..."

"Honey, I'm serious. You'll lay down your life for her, right?"

"Yes! I swear, if a-"

"Okay, sweetie, don't start ranting, you can take on childbirth if you can be willing to give your life for theirs. You need to _focus_."

"I... Okay..." Birth. Sure. Handle it... Just focus...

He jumped when a screech mixed with Sam's high-pitched whine.

"Honey, honey! Calm down! That's just Faye!"

"I KNOW! I KNOW!"

He repositioned himself, eyes still closed and probably looking like he was meditating.

"She'll probably come out in a minute or two and as soon as she does, wrap her up in your shirt, pull her close to you, and-"

"Wipe her off, I know."

"And then..." Maddie's voice trailed off and she replaced her unfinished sentence with, "You need to open your eyes as soon as you feel her thrashing around in your shirt, okay?"

"Okay."

He kept his eyes shut tight and tried to imagine a baby wrapped up in a blanket being rocked to sleep at home. No blood was on her, she wasn't in the ghost zone, and she wasn't screaming. And Sam? She was the one rocking the baby, humming a little lullaby. And him? He was in the room watching and listening. The twins were asleep, his parents were just finishing some mechanical doohickey in the lab, and Jazz was peacefully reading a psychology book on her bed with a lamp on. The stars were out, the moon was full, and there were absolutely no ghosts around aside from Johnny and Kitty. And no blood _anywhere_.

He opened his eyes in panic when he heard Sam's scream overpowering Faye's. A few seconds later Sam collapsed and he had a newborn struggling in his shirt.

There was blood. There was blood on her.

Wipe it off.

He quickly pulled his shirt around her and used the tip of it to wipe down her face. Blood smeared on the white fabric of his shirt...

"Danny, don't freak out. Stay calm."

"I'm not! I'm not freaking out! I'm calm!" Calm and holding a newborn that wasn't even five minutes old yet!

"Are you done wiping her off?"

"Yes." Deep breath. "Done."

"Okay, you know what comes next, don't you?"

"Wha..." The tie. "Um, yes, I do know, can I close my eyes for this, please, it would really help, there's gonna be blood everywhere!"

"Do not panic, calm down. Tie your shoelace around the umbilical cord, tighten it, and use your powers to cut the cord."

God, the tie...the tie...shoelace tie...get the tie...

He picked up the shoelace and held Faye in the crook of one elbow while he used both his hands to tie the umbilical cord near her belly, just like the nurses in the hospital did with the twins.

"Be gentle."

"Being gentle..." Blood.

"Is the shoelace tight?"

"Yes." Blood.

"Okay. Don't think about the blood, Danny, just cut the cord."

"Okay." Blood.

He raised his index finger and carefully aimed it to a point where it wouldn't hit Sam or Faye and concentrated on tuning his ghost ray into a very fine, thin laser. Just get it over with... He quickly swiped it across the cord, making a clean cut near the tie.

He heard it splatter. He saw it splatter. It was still running out of the cord. It was...it was...

"Blood..." he gagged. "S'blood!"

"Danny? Sweetie?"

"Oh God. Blood, there is...so _much_..."

"Danny, calm down, make sure Faye's wrapped up and warm."

"It's everywhere... It's blood, Mom... It's blood, it's, it's everywhere and it's dark and red and runny and, and, and it's blood. It's blood. It's blood."

"Daniel, listen to me! Stay focused, don't think about the blood!"

"Blood, Mom..." he whispered. "And it's _everywhere_. A...A big puddle of it..."

"Now isn't the time, Danny!"

"AND IT'S RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME. THE BLOOD IS IN FRONT OF ME."

"Now isn't the time to go hemophobic, you-"

"Blood...! God, it's a huge puddle of the stuff and it's just right there and I can't take this! I can't do this anymore! There's so much blood!"

"Calm down, calm down, think about Faye here."

He let the phone fall off his shoulder as he stood up and stumbled to Sam's front, immediately dropping to his knees and handing the baby to her.

She looked at him in frustration and held Faye to her chest. Honestly she was just in labor, just gave birth to _his_ daughter...and he couldn't even keep his gut in check? Heck with his gut, he couldn't even keep his skin color...

"It...blood...I...bl-blood..." he stammered.

"It comes with childbirth, Danny," she panted. "Get over it."

"Blood..." he moaned. "Blood..."

"Danny?"

"I's on me...my hands... Th-There's blood on me..."

"Dan-"

Her words were cut off when he lost consciousness and fell limp beside her.

She sighed. That future he wanted was coming true, right down to him passing out after she gave birth. It would've been humorous if she wasn't in so much pain right now. It was ten times less pain than _during_ labor, but it lingered even after.

"Well, well..." a voice echoed from above. "He's the last person I would expect to be hemophobic."

"He was traumatized at fifteen," Sam answered, staring back up at Ember. She had learned to accept that most of the ghosts Danny strove to drive away weren't completely senseless. They weren't violent for no reason and they always had a motive when they were. However, it had been made clear several times that they weren't looking to hurt the twins, Sam, or Faye. They weren't even looking to hurt Danny anymore, not when he became so protective. The Box Ghost seemed to be the only stupid one and constantly got a beating, but was spared only because he was so weak and had grown very used to fleeing at the sight of Danny.

"If it was enough to traumatize _him_, I won't even ask," she said, lowering herself next to Sam.

"What are you doing here?" she groaned as she tried to get up.

Ember took her free hand and helped pull her to a sitting position. "It might look like a lie to him-" She gestured to Danny. "-but I come here to practice my music. It's not like I want to make myself look like an amateur, so I come to this place. It's nice, secluded, quiet..."

"And the worst place to give birth in," Sam added as she positioned Faye more properly, like a baby should be held when in its mother's arms.

The ghost hummed her agreement.

"But this is truly an honor," she said, somewhat out of character for a ghost like her. "The offspring of a halfa...the first and only in existence...born right here in my little getaway. Imagine that."

"Sorry if it's any trouble," Sam mumbled. "The only transportation we had is that little ship behind you. It broke down and I had no choice but to give birth here."

She turned to look behind her and sighed. "Well, hate to disappoint you but I have no knowledge of mechanics. If there's one ghost that can fix that ship, it's Technus."

The goth frowned. "You sure? There's...no one else? At all?"

"Believe me, I hate him too, but if there's one thing he knows, it's mechanics," she replied. "In your world he uses technology to destroy things and terrorize the citizens. In our world his specialty is mechanical repair."

"That gives a whole new meaning to irony."

"On a different note, how long will the violent hemophobic be out?" she asked.

"Last time he fainted, he was out for several hours."

"Then I might be able to help you. You seem to be a little low on supplies. I could probably just slip into your world and bring you some food and water, maybe some blankets for the new baby."

One thing Danny didn't know, and would hate to find out, was that Ember and the rest of his family had made a pact. Sam would keep Danny from attacking her if she happened to stray too near the kids, and in return she would assist them in emergencies. With a newborn baby, a completely exhausted mother, and a hemophobic father stranded in the ghost zone, this qualified as an emergency.

She weakly nodded. "That would be great, thanks so much."

"Before I go, what's her name?" Ember asked as she lifted herself into the air again.

"Faye."

She smiled and headed off with, "Pretty name for a pretty girl."

In all honesty the goth wanted nothing more than to crawl into a bed, roll herself into a blanket burrito, and sleep. But there was only the Speeder and she was too weak right now to even stand, much less walk. Without Ember's help she would still be laying flat on her back in the same position she'd given birth in.

Speaking of positions...

She looked over to Danny. Here he wanted all ghosts to fear him by proving his mighty strength, proving himself to be the great and terrible Danny Phantom...but then he literally fell at the sight of blood. He was the _father_ of this child, he should've handled this a little better. But he didn't and instead of being all tough and strong, Daddy just succumbed to his little fear. It was embarrassing, it really was.

Faye started moving around in her makeshift blanket and rubbed her face against Sam's chest.

"You must be hungry after all this excitement, huh?"

**A/N**

**When my sister was a baby, she would rub her face against my chest when she got hungry and I was holding her. :P It was kind of awkward but she didn't know. Besides, nursing is just another thing moms do, and Faye is a newborn so she won't want to wait around for her meal. It's been a big day for her, she's hungry. :D**

**I tried to keep Ember in character, but having her as an ally required a little more effort. I'm not sure if she's entirely Ember, or if she's just Ember-ish, but I did the best I could. What do you think, good or bad? :/ Hoping for good...**

**Danny held out longer than he did with the twins, so he definitely made an effort there. XD He still fainted but at least Faye was safe when it happened. **

**Oh, and can someone please tell me, is this story declining? It seems that way...**

**I now have nothing left to say. :T  
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**Review quota (thanks for hitting 593! :'D) is six hundred one (601) reviews.**

**Reply time!  
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**_HeroAce_- Oh, I guess I didn't really explain that did I? Well, they don't go in the house unless no one else (aside from Sam) is there. Once anyone comes back, they leave. But Danny TOLERATES them there, he doesn't actually want it. Sam, however, now she really does appreciate their help. But as you can see, everyone knows now. ;P And they're fine with it. Except Danny. Still.  
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**_Fleightfire_- The interesting thing about this is, Faye has a little more human blood in her than ghost thanks to her mom being all human. Therefore she's less likely to have any powers at all, which means the twins won't be jealous. And since Danny's keeping his identity a secret from the entire younger generation, none of his kids will know about Faye's ghost bloodline. In their eyes, she's just a normal human, just like Mom and Dad. But will she have powers? Hm...well...guess we'll have to find out won't we? ;D**

**_ObsessiveFanfictioner15_- Oh yeah, I got plans for Paulina here. ;) "But first Sam needs to have a baby already." XD Niiiice. Because labor is so easy. Well, Faye's in the big world now.  
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**_Sharksbean_- Thanks. And Danny's sort of...panicky. He uses his powers for violence, so using it on a newborn? It's the unthinkable to him but it came down to that so he did what he had to. He can't fly Sam and Faye out. He'd thought about that possibility, remember? Sam would be too weak to move after giving birth and he can't abandon either one of them, although if something were to happen to Sam, he would be forced to leave with Faye.**

**_Arctica Ice_- ...I do believe it's a tad late on that poll. :( Sorry.**

**_LittleBoomBoom_- Danny's now hemophobic (fear of blood, in case you couldn't tell from the context) so you KNOW he'll pass out. :D Since when am I able to resist making him faint? He...well, things were fine with the delivery, if that's what you mean, but as for Danny's mind...**

**_jim89_- While Danny is freakishly excited about the UPCOMING arrival of the new baby, he was a) not expecting to break down in the middle of ghost zone nowhere; and b) was sure Sam would have to be induced, and that Faye would be born then. So no, they didn't pack for a delivery service. The poor guy's trying here, I mean he's panicking and all he wants if for Sam to get to a hospital, the normal place to give birth. You'll see why I'm 'wasting' valuable story space on Paulina. :3 **

**_Hazel Blue Mystery_- Sorry! :( Updated though.**

**_lolsayzme_- Yup, Paulina. You know, you are the FIRST to ask that question. :) Seeing the bright side of things huh? But no, Sam probably won't be too thrilled.**

**_PlasticPencils_- Why does it have to be in my face?! *wipes off smashed tomato* Okay that's it! Next time you get whipped cream all over your face! MAH EYES BURN WOMAN!**


	46. Chapter 46

~Chapter 46~

Sam sighed heavily as she wrapped the blanket tighter around Faye. The baby still hadn't opened her eyes yet, and while her hair looked like a milky color right now, it would grow into Phantom's solid white hair. Technus had refused to help fix the Specter Speeder on account of a very ridiculously overprotective Danny. Despite still being unconscious, even Technus knew better than to come near, just in case that retarded man woke up while he was busy. Danny had this tendency around ghosts and...pretty much anyone else...to shoot first and hope they were dead. It wasn't the best way to go about, but he was obsessed with keeping everyone safe. He would do anything and everything and he had proven it too many times to count.

She was just thankful that Ember tried. The ghost had gone to get food, water, a few pillows, some blankets, and several diapers. Even now she remained here in case something required her attention. Since Danny was out of the question, she stayed to help. And if Danny woke up to attack Ember the moment he saw her, "Hey, Danny, look over there!" and he would look towards where she was pointing, "See the blood?" and he would see it. Hopefully he would pass out again, which would leave Ember in the clear.

"I'm surprised she's not crying right now," the pop star said. "From what I understand they cry all the time."

Sam shrugged. "Well...maybe she's a little different that way. Besides, I for one am _very_ happy to have some peace. After taking care of twins...well... Let's just say your ears need a few adjustments."

The ghost chuckled and looked over at Danny, inwardly questioning whether he would ever wake up after being a midwife. He was living proof that males weren't fit to deliver babies.

"So how long were you in labor? The only part I saw was him chant, 'blood, blood, blood' and keel over. He was as white as snow by the time I got here."

"Yeah..." she sighed. "Every girl needs a big, strong man. I actually went into labor a minute or two after the Speeder broke down. I don't know exactly how long it was but it was less than thirteen hours. Wish the same could be said for the twins."

"Wow, sounds like fun."

"The epidural was a lifesaver. Didn't realize what a blessing it was until this time, with Faye. Apparently she doesn't want to time her appearances very well."

"I can safely say that I'm never having children. I don't think I could handle nine months of pregnancy, pregnancy symptoms, the pain of childbirth, and then all the responsibility that comes with a kid."

"It's rewarding though. Makes it all worth it."

She snorted. "Rewarding how? Unless they give you a medal for raising a kid, I don't see how it's rewarding."

"I wondered the same thing before I had the twins. I guess you have to be a mom to really understand it."

Ember quietly picked up her guitar and strummed a few low notes. At first Sam was sure Faye would wake up and start screeching her irritation, but she didn't. She simply moved around a little bit, seeming to try to get comfortable to Ember's little lullaby.

"I used to play this all the time. I figured that I would shake it up a bit and instead of working so hard on rock and pop music, I would focus on a softer, more tranquil song for once. Never thought it would come in handy this way though," Ember explained. "Of course, I never could come up with lyrics for it."

Sam waved a dismissive hand and shook her head. "Whatever works. Faye's calm, she's asleep and quiet, and to be honest, I'm ready to hit a snooze button myself."

It was at that precision timing, the polar opposite of Faye's little debut, that Danny began to stir. Ember seemed to take it as a cue to flee while she still had the chance, as most ghosts did...assuming they _had_ a chance.

And thankfully Ember had gotten away before Danny even saw her. He woke with a long groan and sluggish movements. Of all people, he really shouldn't be one complaining. He wasn't the one who unexpectedly went into labor, he wasn't the one who gave birth, and he wasn't the one who was flat-out exhausted. Although...he did deserve some credit. A hemophobic had delivered a baby by himself and managed to pull through, holding off for as long as possible until the last minute, when Faye was safely in her arms. Those nurses shouldn't have asked him if he wanted to cut the umbilical cords and she herself played into that stupidity by giving him permission to do it. Add to that the fact that he'd already gotten nervous and queasy, and even more so, he'd been too stubborn to swallow his pride and say no, and the perfect storm was created. Now blood terrified him and he couldn't handle it at all.

But that showed that he was paying much more attention to Faye than anyone would've thought. With the twins, all he did was cut the umbilical cords, hand the scissors back to the nurse, and fail at making it back to a chair. With Faye, he did everything the doctors and nurses had done despite having that kind of extreme reaction to blood. Even if it meant dumping her in her arms, he made sure to get her somewhere safe. It was a lot for him to do something like that even though it didn't seem like much.

He got up and dusted himself off. His eyes still looked glazed over, like he wasn't very focused on his surroundings, but that changed instantly when his ghost sense went off. He immediately transformed and shot above the island, only to find emptiness. Aside from the things stashed in the Specter Speeder, which apparently he hadn't noticed yet, the only new sight was a tiny bundle all snuggled up against Sam. She was no longer wrapped in Danny's bloody shirt. Ember had brought blankets for a reason and now Faye had a clean one.

The confused look on Danny's face told Sam everything.

"I think it's Faye," she said.

The silence lingering over the island allowed sound to carry over clearly. Danny heard her and thankfully, she didn't have to speak up. As exhausted as she was, not moving a muscle sounded amazing right now, even if it was merely talking.

He softly landed in front of them and reverted back to Fenton. His ghost sense didn't go off again, but there was no other ghost aside from himself...and Faye.

It finally seemed to strike him that Sam wasn't pregnant anymore. She'd had the baby. Faye was out in the big world now, but in no way was she alone. Maybe it would annoy her later but daddy dearest wouldn't let her be alone. He had his reasons, but...

It would be interesting to see how he handled the teen years with any of the kids. He would probably be freaking out left and right when Lilith and Faye started taking an interest in boys. Maybe Junior would be cut some slack but the girls...just...no. Unless Faye turned out to have his powers but neither of them would really want to go into that. A superpowered baby would be, to say the _very_ least, difficult.

He knelt down on both knees and stared at Faye, a slow smile spreading across his face.

"She's so perfect," he breathed.

It was the same feeling he had when he saw the twins for the first time outside their mother's womb. But just as with the twins, he was too busy panicking to notice it before. This time, with Faye, it was the same thing. The only difference was that the memory of all that blood was added to Sam's distress. And with the twins it was Sam's distress that got him so nervous. Not only that, but he didn't have to deliver them. She also had the proper treatment before, during, and after birth. She was given hydration throughout the whole thing, when she couldn't drink water. This time was so much more dangerous for though. She had no hydration and had spent a ton of energy that she was currently too weak to get back. Basically, she couldn't really recover like she should be able to.

It worried him but there wasn't anything happening right now, not yet at least. For now he needed to focus not on Faye, but keeping Sam strong enough to take care of her. He could help by doing things such as changing diapers and rocking her, but Sam was the only one capable of feeding her. Plus, as he found out soon enough with the twins, sometimes Mommy was preferred over Daddy.

...A lot of times Mommy was preferred over Daddy.

Oh well. Faye would have to put up with that until everyone got home safely.

He wanted to tear his eyes away but he couldn't. And there was nothing to distract him. His ghost sense didn't go off, he couldn't detect any threats, and... M-Maybe a _little_ focus on Faye wouldn't be too bad. Nothing was happening right now so he could afford it.

He reached out to hold her and Sam seemed almost relieved to have Faye out of her arms. Though it did make sense that she would be. Childbirth was draining and she probably just wanted to sleep. He couldn't be sure about it but if Sam was that willing to simply hand a newborn-_her_ newborn-over, even if he _was_ the father, then Faye had probably been fed and changed. If that weren't the case then Sam would've held on until she was taken care of.

"Welcome to the big world, Faye," he said as Sam's arms fell limply beside her and her head slowly dropped down. Her breathing quickly evened out, which proved to him that she was only asleep and not in any danger. It also showed him that she really was weak and needed more rest than he first thought.

The newborn made a small murmur and punched a hand out of the blanket, slapping Danny in the chin. It was funny how her eyes weren't even open yet she had such a good aim.

"Something tells me you'll be a handful," he quietly laughed, making sure Sam had enough silence to sleep in. "Let's just hope you don't have my powers. They can be a little dangerous."

She grunted and kicked both her feet in the blanket.

"Don't worry. When you're in Daddy's arms, nothing will happen to you. I promise."

Wham. Daddy got slapped again. Nothing would happen to her but _apparently_ the same couldn't be said for him. He was just thankful it was only a baby punch. It was something they were all still trying to teach them to stop doing, but whenever one of the twins punched him, it actually hurt. That, and he was always tripping over them. It wasn't their fault-they only wanted to see him-but he was tall and could easily hurt them if he fell on top of them. The solution? Hands down. Literally. It kept his body from hitting the ground and if they happened to be underneath him, they would only get knocked down. They wouldn't get hurt no matter how much he thought they would. Nah, they would run right into a door or bump their heads, but shrug it off like it was nothing and go back to doing whatever.

He put her hand down on her chest. She made an angry face at him, made humorous thanks to her closed eyes.

"Did Mommy get this treatment too or is it just me?"

She made a baby sound that he was pretty sure translated to, "Just you."

"You better use this kind of violence against boys when you get older," he 'replied'. "And if they still don't back off, you just tell Daddy, he'll make sure they back off all the way to Mexico."

He didn't get a chance to get another word in before the phone rang. _Loudly_.

It was practically a race to snatch up the phone while holding Faye. Even when he hit the answer button, he swore Sam woke up. She really hadn't and probably wouldn't for some time to come, but she needed to rest and he needed to make sure she could.

"What's the matter with you?!" he hissed into the phone. "Sam's sleeping!"

It was his mother who answered and she wasn't happy with him speaking to her that way.

"Daniel James Fenton, don't you dare talk to me that way again...!" she warned him. Taking a breath, she continued...but she almost seemed to stall on the real reason she called. "If Sam's asleep, she's already given birth; how is Faye? Is she safe? Were there any problems? You hung up on me and never called me back."

He cleared his throat and flushed in embarrassment. "In order, fine, yes, no, and I was um...a-a little busy taking care of everyone."

"You passed out."

He scoffed. "I didn't _pass out_!"

"Don't lie to your mother. You can't handle blood, you're a man, and you delivered a baby."

"I managed!" he argued. "I stayed conscious long enough to get Faye to Sam, that has to count for something!"

"As violent and overprotective as you are, your weakness is a little blood..." she sighed.

"First of all, I am not _over_protective, I am just the right _amount_ of protective; second of all, it was not a _little_ blood, it was a _lot_ of blood."

"You're overprotective, honey. It's a good thing but you take it to the extreme."

"I'm not-!"

"So how is Faye now? What does she looks like? Oh! What color are her eyes? It would be adorable if she had your pretty eyes!"

He frowned at that. "Did you just call my eyes _pretty_?"

"That cute baby blue color on a baby, oh that would be just precious...!"

"Cute? Baby blue? What are you, in cahoots with Sam or something?"

"Or if she has white hair with purple eyes, that would-"

"She does have white hair, actually, but she hasn't opened her eyes yet. Not as far as I know anyway. I'm hoping she doesn't have green eyes, that would make her look just like me, but female. It might mean she has my powers, especially if they glow."

"I wouldn't try to worry too much about that. Even if she does have powers, I doubt she would have all of them. Keep in mind that she has more human blood in her than ghost ectoplasm. She stands less chance of having anything."

First 'over'protective, then being picked on about passing out over a ton of blood, then insulting his masculinity, and then finally doing what Sam always did...insult his eyes.

"So did you call to talk about Faye? If you did then we'll have to cut it short. My phone won't hold its battery forever and I might need it if there's an emergency on either side."

His mom took a very long, steady breath and said, "It's not the reason I called. Don't tell Sam this, because the last thing she needs is more stress than there already is, but her parents called us..."

He unknowingly tightened his grip on Faye. "What did they want?"

"I think you know."

A/N

FIRST OFF, this chapter was delayed, yes, but some of it wasn't my fault. I went on a family vacation, which took up a lot of time. And recently I've been quite busy. I will probably be busy for the next several days. BUT I still had some time to work on this chapter and I didn't... :( I'm sorry, guys...

I'm kind of glad I got down this cliffhanger. I've been DYING to get to it for a long time now! I'd love to hear your ideas of what Sam's parents want. And isn't it convenient that they called soon after Faye was born? And isn't it a little strange that they called Danny's parents but not Danny? What's up with that? :3 I'd seriously like to hear what you guys think.

I don't have much else to say. No review quota, you've done enough waiting as it is.

Review replies:

**_The Talent_- :D REALLY?! Thank you! I feel like I've been awarded a medal or something! ^o^ **

**_Guest_- It really does feel that way. It also feels like I'm steadily losing readers.**

**_Radiant Celestial Aura_- Daddy go to dreamland. Oh trust me, something big IS going to happen!**

**_Fleightfire_- True, it would be pretty cool. I'll think about it. And yes, Danny would pass out at it...but keep in mind that this time, he DELIVERED the baby. XD**

**_Samtastic V2.0_- :) Glad you think so! Oh that is a HUGE relief to me! I tried to twist her up a bit too, because Danny's kind of made his intentions clear when it comes down to the kids. Start ghosts would stand clear and like many ghosts, Ember wanted to get on SOMEONE'S good side, even if it's not directly Danny's. Even Johnny and Kitty aren't necessarily on his 'good side', he just tolerates them so they can help out with the twins.**

**_purpledragon6_- She's the first kid born to Danny. He adopted the twins and thinks of them as his own, but they aren't his by blood which makes Faye their first baby 'together'. I said that more because they kind of...you know, 'worked together' to make her.**

**_Favorite Daughter Of Hades_- LOL That made me laugh for some reason.**

**_beautifullove521_- What does smh mean?**

**_HeroAce_- See the thing about any ghost is that (and I've made this a tad difficult for myself) Danny does NOT take kindly to having them near the kids. In order for Ember to have a fleeting glance, she needs the rest of his family's protection. It would do no one any good to try to stand up to him or talk some sense into him. It would only make their punishment ten times worse if they provoke him even a little. Butting heads with him? All it takes is one tiny word and that's it, there IS no more 'reasoning'. Unless it's someone he knows, he'll attack without warning...but he really does just want his family to be safe. It seems unreal the way he acts around ghosts, but then he gets back home and you see this soft, tender side of him. He just wants to make sure they're happy and safe, that's all. But now even Johnny and Kitty may be in danger now that Faye's been born. They're still needed but they can easily outlive their usefulness if Danny decides to do something about them being there. All that said, it would be much wiser for Ember if she DIDN'T stand up to Danny in any form or fashion. And she knows it. That's why she didn't think twice about sticking around despite having helped so much.**

**_TripleAAA1183_- ;) Believe me, she'll turn out to have a rather interesting personality. Now that she's been born, things will change dramatically. :( Especially since Danny went from second one to day two, and so on and so forth. Poor guy.**


	47. Chapter 47

**A/N: Everyone please read the A/N at the bottom of the page. It's pretty important.**

~Chapter 47~

Yes. He was sure he already knew. Any other person, probably not, but Sam's parents? They only ever caused trouble. Obviously this was about Sam. Obviously they wanted to see her again, or at least hear from her. But why? What was their plan? They only ever caused her misery and he couldn't understand for the life of him how she could possibly love them after all these years. But they were still her parents and he couldn't well stand in the way of that, especially if they were the ones taking initiative. Last time he saw her dad, he left without a hint as to what he was thinking. But he was practically wordless and it looked like he was simply done with Sam.

If he was, though, then he wouldn't want to contact her. Of course, there was the possibility that it could be her mother wanting to see Sam. Jeremy explained that they nearly divorced because they disagreed. And he could easily believe that was the truth. When he came back looking for Sam, the Mansons were having a huge argument downstairs. That had to be the 'disagreement' and Sam wouldn't have knows about it since she wasn't in the house...and since he never told her he heard them fighting. But back then he didn't think much of it, being too focused on Sam to care what those demons did.

"Mom, I have to go now. Faye needs to be changed," he lied.

Before the woman had a chance to reply, he hung up and snapped the phone shut.

Sam might've thought it best to be raped the first time but what would her parents have done if they knew she'd been raped a second? Not what he'd done, that was for sure. Even if one of his daughters, raped or not, got pregnant, he wouldn't kick them out. He wouldn't try to guilt them into leaving or imply that they were dead to him. How could _Sam's_ parents do that? And obviously they kept it a secret from the rest of the family otherwise Cole would've known.

He sighed. As if Faye's untimely appearance wasn't enough to deal with, now he had Sam's parents on his shoulders. To make things worse, he couldn't get Sam anywhere, which wouldn't give her much time to recover. That, or perhaps too much time. In the long time it would take for them t-

A screech came from behind him and he immediately prepared to defend himself. Kind of hard to do since he only had one free arm and couldn't simply set Faye wherever. And thankfully he didn't have to, there was no need to worry.

"Oh she's so cute!" Kitty squealed as she jumped out of Johnny's bike, with Johnny soon following her.

One thing he would never admit to anyone, even himself, was that he was starting to trust them. He growled, barked, and yelled, but by now they were practically empty words. Some of them weren't, but he was so determined to come across as harsh and difficult that they were probably already seeing through it. For all he knew, they joked about it behind his back. And they did, as long as he wasn't in earshot. Worse, Sam often joined in.

While Kitty was busy jabbering on about the new baby, Johnny looked him over and asked, "Any particular reason you're shirtless?"

He looked down. True. He'd been so used to having no shirt on that he forgot it was off in the first place.

"It's a long story," he answered. And one that he didn't want to remember. "Anyway, what are you doing here? Faye's not even an hour old and Sam's too weak to be moved."

"Relax, man, we just came by to make sure you guys were okay. We heard from your mom that Sam went into labor. We got here as soon as we could in case you needed help, but...looks like you don't need it."

"As soon as you could? It's been hours!"

Johnny clicked his tongue and shook his head. "Do you have any idea how far away you are? Besides, it was hard to find you. Took a lot longer than we expected."

"There's only one way you can help us. Technus works with all sorts of technology, right? You think he can find out what's wrong with the Speeder and fix it?"

"Oh yeah. He might be annoying but he's the best mechanic there is. Where do you think I go when you blow up my bike?"

True... Johnny's bike always seemed to magically fix itself after being sent back to the ghost zone but now it made perfect sense as to why it came back fully functional. Only Technus could have the knowledge and tools to fix a ghost motorcycle. And while the Specter Speeder had been used for other trips, it was specially designed for the ghost zone. It could be similar to Johnny's motorcycle in that respect.

"Then go ask him to fix this thing. I could get everyone home that way, even if it takes a long time. And just in case, tell him I'll _tolerate_ him while he's working," Danny said. "Also tell him that if he doesn't come, his afterlife will be over."

"Want Kitty to stay here or...?" Johnny boarded his bike.

"Take her with you," he replied.

Faye was already messing up his ghost sense, the last thing he needed was Kitty and Johnny helping her out.

The biker saluted him and called his girlfriend back, revving his bike and turning back the way he came. Hopefully it wouldn't be long before Technus came. And if he didn't come, Johnny would have to find someone else to repair his bike.

But for now all he could do was wait.

Wait, think...and worry. To set off his ghost sense, Faye had to have some kind of ghostly trait to her. It didn't necessarily have to be ghost powers, but the fact that she did, as his mother even said, have ectoplasm in her made her part ghost. And for the one who had been protecting everyone from ghosts all this time, it was confusing to a level and clashed harshly with an instinct he'd developed over time. He wasn't used to _raising_ a ghost, he was used to _fighting_ them. Now a ghost rested in his arms and despite that ghost being his daughter...it would take some getting used to. A very tiny portion of him, upon seeing white hair and the activation of his ghost sense, was screaming, "GHOST! KILL IT!" but he loved her. It was easy to shove that voice aside but it wasn't so easy to ignore...after all, he'd depended on that voice for years. He was so used to fighting ghosts and she looked like one, and was part of one anyway, but how could he bring himself to fight his own baby girl?

Stupid voice...it was time to go away now that Faye was here. She used her other hand to slap at the air. And she wasn't afraid to remind him.

He held his head higher to avoid having his chin slapped _again_.

He hadn't held such a tiny baby since the twins were born, and that was three years ago. Compared to them now, Faye seemed about an inch tall. And compared to them, she sure had a lot of energy. Normally babies would fall asleep by now but she'd been awake since before he woke up. If she had that much energy maybe she could give Mommy and Daddy some...sure could use it right now, especially Mommy.

Knowing it would probably take some time to get to Technus' lair and a little more time to do some convincing, possibly even bribery along with all the promised threats, he sat down Indian-style and allowed himself to bathe in joy. He was finally holding his little daughter in his arms. And boy was she an active little thing. He wished he could call it an entirely new experience but having already gone through this same emotional phase with the twins, it wasn't entirely new. The only new thing about it was that there was one new Fenton in the family, and this time Sam didn't have to suffer to get pregnant.

He smiled. That news was so shocking he'd nearly had a heart attack from it. One time was all it took to create this little bundle of energy he now held. Just once, that was it. And that one little time had turned into this little girl. _His_ little girl. And the woman sleeping right across from him was Sam. _His_ Sam. Who made _his_ family. Even his parents and sister were just...elated. Although he was pretty sure Jazz was a little jealous; she was older and normally would've had a child before him, yet he now had three children, all before her. She really had no reason to be jealous at all. Being a parent was hard work. She didn't seem to understand that very well...and she still had the gall to say she was more mature. She also still corrected him-and Sam as well-on the way he parented the twins. While she babysat from time to time, _he_ was the one raising them. Him and Sam. They were the ones who reported for duty every time one of them had a nightmare _in the dead of night_ about a cat crying because it lost its ball of string, they were the ones who cleaned up the accidents on the floor, they were the ones who fed them, bathed them, changed their clothes, etc. The worst part was getting Junior to take a bath though.

So honestly, she had no right to say he was being too protective... And Sam had no right to say he was overprotective! He wasn't overprotective. If anything he could stand to be _more_ protective. He was the dad, that was his job.

And it amazed him that this job once intimidated him. He knew it would be hard and once he had time to let his mind process it-that he would end up raising kids he really didn't want-a cold feeling formed in his gut. Then time passed and he watched Sam get herself into so many bad situations, watched her make so many wrong choices...and he realized what an idiot he was being for _allowing_ her to do all that. And as the days went on he found himself thinking more and more about the twins' lives and less of his own. His love for Sam became all too apparent even to himself...but his concern was most likely directed more to the babies inside her. His friend got pregnant, he fell in love with her _knowing_ that if he kept this up he would end up with unwanted kids, and now he was more concerned about _them_ than _Sam_? It didn't make any sense to him until he began despising the thought of playing Daddy...that was when the moment of clarity struck. He was more concerned for the babies because he _did_ love them, he _did_ want them, and he _did_ relish the idea of being a real dad. It helped greatly that everyone already thought he was the dad. And when Sam didn't want to give them up, when she accepted him as their father-or at very least a surrogate-he knew what he was really meant to be.

Looking back, though, it was an awful feeling to know he started out hoping there would be some way out of raising twins. Did his mind ever change since then... The same twins he didn't want at first were now what gave him two reasons to live. And now there was little Faye, his third reason.

His ghost sense went off and once more, he took a defensive stance, scanning his surroundings. His first question wasn't where the ghost was, it was who set off his ghost sense...Faye or someone else? With Faye capable of triggering his ghost sense, he would have to make up an excuse as to why his breath was cold and blue sometimes.

He turned all the way around to find a ghost he was well acquainted with.

"Clockwork?"

The ghost smiled and looked at Faye. "I've been looking forward to this day. Even the master of time can become impatient."

Danny held her tighter and turned his body away, practically glaring at Clockwork. For the first time in his life he heard the ghost laugh.

"What?" he spat.

He shook his head. "Just thinking..." he cryptically replied. "You're quite the overprotective father, I see."

"I am not overprotective!" he argued. "I'm _just the right amount_!"

"Of course. I meant to say 'loving'. My apologies."

"What did you come here for? It isn't like you to pop up randomly like this."

"I know you harbor a deep hatred towards ghosts, but rest assured you can relax with me. I came to see Faye with my own eyes...and to propose a deal."

"_You_? Propose a _deal_? What happened to not messing with time?"

"If I recall, I was the one who intervened and allowed your friends and family to live. If not for me, she wouldn't exist. Sometimes altering time can be a good thing."

Danny growled but knew it was true. If Clockwork hadn't spared everyone, Sam would've died and neither the twins or Faye would ever have been born. And him? He would never have gotten the chance to know this feeling.

"What deal?"

"I can get you out of here and back to your family. In exchange, you bring Faye to me-"

"What?! No! You're not taking her!"

"It was never my intention. You bring her to me simply so I may see her again when she's older. Fourteen, to be exact."

The halfa frowned. "Why fourteen? What are you planning to do with her?"

"Nothing. The real question is, what will _you_ do with her?"

What...? Him? What...what would _he_ do with her? Why him? He wouldn't do a thing!

"I have a schedule-"

"You're the ghost of time, you already know my answer," he mumbled. "And you already knew Sam would give birth here. Thanks for the heads up!"

"She-"

"Wasn't meant to be born here! I have no idea what the ghost zone will do to her! I wouldn't have brought Sam with me if I'd known the Specter Speeder would break down in the middle of nowhere!"

The timekeeper merely smiled at the comment. "If only to put your mind at ease, the ghost zone will have no effect on your child. You have other things to worry about; it's Junior's bath time."

Oh great...

"Deal. Get us out of here and I'll come back with Faye," he decided.

Clockwork nodded and raised his staff. A soft glow surrounded the Specter Speeder-to which Danny finally noticed all the useful items Johnny and Kitty had brought, probably when he was still unconscious-and the little shuttle started up again, hovering just above the ground. He'd reversed time around it, causing whatever damage it had to undo itself. Finally...a way back home.

A way back to a place Sam could recover in, where she could be treated safely.

**A/N**

**I'd really like to thank the people who DID review but I do have some bad news. I'm losing so much inspiration for this story that it's just... I have a whole future planned out but at this point I'm just ready to make a crappy, rushed chapter to get it over with because honestly, does anyone remember why I asked for review replies to begin with? If you don't allow me to remind you: I can't get inspiration for ANY of my stories without lots of reviews flowing in to inspire me. **

**For those of you who have followed/favorited The Boy With the Rings, I'm pretty sure you noticed another update in LESS THAN A WEEK. That's fast! 14 chapters now...158 reviews. I'm almost halfway through the next chapter! So see? I do read your reviews, I do VERY MUCH appreciate them, and I swear I try. Writing a mute character that only speaks Esperanto and doesn't know English? You know how daunting that is? And then to plan it out and pace it? That's just...no words... **

**NOW how many of you have browsed through my stories? Did you notice how many were dropped? How nearly every one was incomplete? I have very few active ones...but this story here, I'm getting the feeling that I'll end up dropping it because of the stories that people find worthwhile. This thing has declined, I've tried to make it interesting by leaving a cliffhanger about Sam's parents, but now I just don't know what else to do. To go from ~20 reviews per chapter to ~6 reviews per chapter is rather disheartening. **

**I won't lie, I'm starting to think writing out another chapter is a waste of my time. Reviews aren't just inspirations, they're how I gauge the level of of my stories, from "terrible" to "AMAZING!" This story is quickly reaching "terrible". It used to be "AMAZING!" What happened?**

**Now for review replies:**

**_The Talent_- :P Nice to know someone found that interesting. And sorry for the slow update. I'm just finding this story to be all but worthless now. Started out great, now it's not.**

**_ObsessiveFanfictioner15_- Well now we know she sets off his ghost sense. :/ She still had ghost DNA, so I needed SOME kind of trait in her. Figured that would be perfect. Yeah, I'm not sure what happened with Whatshisface... :( I know what I'm doing and where I'm going. Same with The Halfa Factory. I've already updated The Boy With the Rings twice. :) Proud of that.**

**_beautifullove521_- Yuppers, cliffies.**

**_TripleAAA1183_- I thought it would be. :( I really did, especially since Cole is not completely unimportant. Sorry you had to wait. It took me a long time to just muddle through this thing. I'd rather work on my other stories... :/**

**_HeroAce_- He would...or would he? Faye sets off his ghost sense, which would make it very difficult for him to tell whether it's Faye or a ghost. Clockwork left his post to come. Why? Hm... **

**_purpledragon6_- :P It's okay. Most people who now read this haven't read FWB first, if at all.**


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